The Coat of Arms issue 50.2

Volume 50 Number 2

Menlo School, Atherton, California

Thursday, December 7, 2023

The Coat of Arms serving Menlo’s upper school since 1973

by JACOB REICH

Peyton to protect their identity, found themselves entangled in a web of temptation. It was late at night during their freshman year, and Peyton had been working on their computer science project for a week. Part of their code didn’t work. “One of the problem sets, I couldn't finish it, and so basically, I copied and pasted code from [...] online,” Peyton said.

A few days later, Peyton’s CS teacher asked to meet with them.

Confronted by their teacher with what they found, Peyton

It was the day before a math test.

Math teacher Chrissie Walters printed out the answer key, tucked it in a folder in her desk and went to grab lunch.

When she got back, the answer key was gone.

Because a student — whose identity remains unknown to Walters — apparently stole the answer key, she had to rewrite the test that night. Opting not to inform her classes about the missing answer key, she sought to ensure that the potential thief would have the answer key for the wrong test.

In a separate incident of academic dishonesty, a sophomore, referred to as

Staff illustration: Amber More

admitted to cheating. Because this was Peyton’s first time cheating, they were not punished.

According to Upper School Assistant Director Adam Gelb, instances of academic dishonesty at Menlo increased slightly from the 2021-22 to 2022-23 school year. However, the number of cases has decreased so far in this school year.

When cheating occurs at Menlo, it often takes more subtle forms than

outright theft, as recounted

by Walters. “The most common thing is that in the hallway, I can hear students prattling on when they walk out of a test, telling each other what the questions were on the test and how they approached it,” Walters said.

“And it’s every grade, every class and every level.”

Reflecting on the consequences of such actions, English teacher Jay Bush believes plagiarism is the most severe form of cheating in his English classes. “I’ve only encountered that a couple of times since I’ve been at Menlo. And one time, it was largely a mistake; it wasn’t necessarily intentional.

The unfortunate thing is that it is still plagiarism either way,” he said.

The most prevalent form of cheating observed by Bush involves students consulting online summaries and analyses without providing proper citations.

Academic Integrity, pg. 3

Students Draw Up Portfolios for College

by AMELIE GIOMI

Senior Lucinda Schafer didn’t want to be an astronaut, a doctor or a veterinarian as a child. She wanted to be an architect. “When I was younger, I would just sketch floor plans for fun, and I didn’t realize that could be a job,” she said. Schafer has since taken summer courses in architecture and her passion for the craft has grown.

The application process for students majoring in disciplines within the arts varies, ranging from in-person auditions to submitting pictures of sculptures.

Schafer chose to only apply to colleges that offer a separate architecture major.

“I felt like I couldn’t see myself [at a college] without architecture being a major,” she said.

Originally, Schafer only wanted to apply to universities that offer a five-year undergraduate degree in architecture known as a Bachelor of Architecture.

However, these programs are typically only offered at larger universities. Schafer

What’s Inside?

is now leaning towards attending a small liberal arts college that offers an architecture major and then pursuing a Master of Architecture. “I didn’t really want to go to a big university. It was a bit of a dilemma,” Schafer said. “Now I’m leaning more towards liberal arts [colleges] and then going into grad school and getting an architecture degree.”

As part of her application, Schafer is required to submit a portfolio showcasing her skills in the arts. Because colleges don’t expect students majoring in architecture to have already developed projects related to architecture, they want to see other aspects of the arts in their portfolio. “My portfolio is just another part of who I am,” Schafer said. “I’m trying to show the colleges that part of me.”

Schafer said that the portfolio takes up as much time as writing a supplemental essay. Most schools have a maximum of 20 pieces and a minimum

of five that students can submit as part of their portfolio.

Schafer’s portfolio mixed a variety of mediums and themes. “I pulled together art from a couple of years ago, and then this summer, where I made a bunch of 3D pieces like ceramics,” she said. “Then I also just have some that are kind of windows into my life to show the admissions officers. They might not be my strongest pieces, but they have a lot of meaning to me.”

Senior Katie King does not have to submit a portfolio to every college she applies to because she is planning on majoring in either design or communication design, which is interdisciplinary. “What I’m majoring in is kind of a business-arts intersection, so it depends. For the colleges that do want a portfolio [...] they want five to 10-ish images or short videos of what you have done and then a little write-up,” she said.

She noted that some colleges even want a

ARTS & LIFESTYLE

OPINIONS

Evan Arcilla Gives Cuts Above the Rest in Locker Room

For Our Sake and Your Own, Stay Off The Senior Quad

READ MORE ON PAGE 19

READ MORE ON PAGE 8

Staff illustration: Amber More

written portfolio instead of a visual one.

King feels that the portfolio could bring a lot of stress to students majoring in one of the fine arts because so much of their application is based on their portfolio. “You want to give some of your most recent work, but also you want your best work. So you know, a fun little doodle isn’t going to cut it,” she said.

King is submitting a range of art pieces, including sculptures, paintings and clips of her singing.

Arts in college, pg. 10

Check out The Coat of Arms website!

2

News

December 7, 2023

Athletics Department Scraps Team Fees, Problems Persist

by MIKI KIMURA

In an effort to eliminate financial barriers to play Menlo sports, parents of Menlo athletes are no longer required to pay a team fee for their child to participate in a sport starting in the 2023-24 school year. These fees, according to Director of Athletics Earl Koberlein, covered the costs of events such as team dinners, pregame and postgame snacks and senior day celebration costs.

Menlo Chief Financial Officer Bill Silver said that the costs of four team dinners, pregame and postgame snacks and senior day expenses will be incorporated into the school budget instead.

According to Koberlein, team banquets and team overnight trips will continue to be paid for by the attendees and are not part of the new budgets replacing team fees.

Silver said that the main reason that team fees were removed is because a lot of the things that team fees were paying for should be included in tuition,

particularly food for practices and games.

“After you’ve paid what you paid to be at Menlo, [...] you should never pay another fee so your child can participate in a sport,” Silver said. Parents could previously receive financial aid to pay the fee through Admissions and Staff illustration: Andrea Li

Financial Aid Assistant Rose Garza if needed.

However, removing team fees has not come without difficulty. According to a team parent for a fall sport, parents for that sport have had difficulty getting reimbursed for purchases that were covered by team fees last year. Parents who provided food for games needed to keep track of receipts and send them

to the Athletics Department, but some said the system of reimbursement was unclear and parents were not immediately compensated. “So in September, [the Athletics Department] said, ‘Just submit your receipts. You’ll get reimbursed within five business days.’ And I said, ‘Okay, great.’ And then nothing came about for a few weeks. Then all of a sudden, they said, ‘Oh no, you need to fill this [detailed expense report] out.’

And my response was, ‘Oh, wow, that’s a lot of detail.’ It has been very tedious retroactively having to go through all the receipts,” the team parent said.

In place of team fees is an expense report form that team parents must fill out. However, the team parent stated that they didn’t receive the expense report until early October even though most fall sports began in August. Even after completing the expense forms and sending receipts, some parents were not immediately reimbursed. “I was told that it’s going to take another two weeks for finance to approve and then send a check,” the team parent said on Nov. 8.

Prior to the 2022-23 school year, team parents and coaches would set expenses for the program. Banquet costs were removed from the team fee in

the 2022-23 school year due to parent complaints about the fee becoming too expensive. People that attended the end-of-season banquet would pay their share of the cost and individual families could give a coaches gift, but these expenses were not included in the team fee. “If you’re not going to the banquet, you shouldn’t have to pay [to go to the banquet],” Koberlein said. “If you and your grandparents and your aunts and uncles go and there’s eight of you, you probably should pay eight times the $10 or $20.”

Now, the athletics department comes up with the costs of team meals, food on the road, food after games and Senior Day, which Silver includes in the school budget for athletics. The team parent is also optimistic that the process of reimbursement will be easier in the future.

“I think it will be easier for teams going forward, because this season is the first season that they’ve instituted this new process and they’re probably working out the kinks,” the parent said.

The parent also believes that having team fees be paid for by the school is overall a good thing. “It’s a very generous gesture by the school,” they said.

Admin Adds Tutorial Periods, Extra Day for Midterms Proctoring exams was not part of Upper School Director John Schafer’s winter break plans last year. Some students, though, couldn’t complete midterm exams for all their classes in the three days allotted, so Schafer came to campus to accommodate these students.

This year, finals will span over four days instead of three, offering additional time slots for students to take exams.

Upper School Registrar Ava Petrash explained that last year’s exam schedule created conflicts, with fewer makeup opportunities for students who were sick or unavailable. She believes the extra day this year will give valuable flexibility for potential issues. “We probably had 50 students who had to take exams either on the last day of winter break or after school resumed for the second semester,” she said. “I think the goal of the change is to reduce stress on students.”

In addition to the extra day, on the Monday through Wednesday leading up to exams on Thursday, Dec. 14, there will be new 45-minute tutorials at the end of each school day. These periods will run

“

I think the goal of the change is to reduce stress on students.

Upper School Registrar Ava Petrash

“

by ASHER DARLING

from 2:15-3 p.m. Last year, the schedule leading up to finals consisted of a day off with optional tutorial periods. Upper School Director John Schafer remembers

that the student council proposed the idea of a tutorial day a few years ago.

“I think people have liked [the extra tutorial time],” he said. “So, we are trying to capture a fair amount of that [with these changes].”

According to Schafer, designing a schedule for finals can be difficult for Menlo’s Senior Administration Team as several factors play into picking dates.

“We need to finish on a [G block] and also figure out when to break, so it’s just fitting different pieces together,” Schafer said.

Menlo Receptionist and Communications Associate Dorelia Arias says that the school sometimes uses schedules from previous years to help create a format to fit the current year. “This year, we referenced 2017 and looked back at what was done then, because it had a lot of similarities to this year,” Arias said.

Most notably, Christmas took place on a Monday in 2017 as it does this year,

making it challenging to adapt a break around. “When Christmas falls in this awkward time, you are left with a few days in a random week,” Petrash said.

“Basically, the goal is to keep winter break consistent and make sure that it is at least three weeks after Thanksgiving.”

This year, winter break will last from Wednesday, Dec. 20 through Jan. 2.

Junior Avani Ganesan understands the decision to allot new tutorial time for students this year. “Although I liked that each tutorial block in the old system was two hours, I feel like students only need 45 minutes to ask all of their substantive questions,” she said. Within her role in the student council as the academic coordinator, Ganesan plans to implement additional finals study sessions after school. “I want to have access to classrooms with open resources so that people can work in a collaborative study space,” Ganesan said.

Staff illustration: Amber More

News

December 7, 2023

3

Admin Drops COVID Vaccine Mandate, Mask Use Declines

by GEOFFREY FRANC & ALYSSA McADAMS

Menlo students and faculty are no longer required to get the COVID-19 vaccine as of the beginning of this school year, removing a mandate that had been enforced in some form since October 2021, according to School Nurse Joan Barada.

Throughout the pandemic, Barada said, Menlo policy has drawn from the San Mateo County Department of Health

“

When anyone has a communicable disease — not just COVID — and they are feeling unwell, they need to stay home.

“

School Nurse Joan Barada

guidelines. So when state law forced SMC Health to drop its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, Menlo followed suit.

Amidst this policy shift, maskwearing has become rare at Menlo’s

Academic Integrity Continued from pg. 1 Often, the line between what is considered plagiarism and what is acceptable when using online tools is blurry. Many students at Menlo use websites that provide detailed summaries and study guides on books, such as CliffsNotes, SparkNotes, LitCharts and BookRags. “Does using broad ideas that came up in SparkNotes count as academic dishonesty?” Bush asked. “It can be hard to tell. Sometimes students will read [these websites] and not think that they used [ideas from them], but only later realize that the same ideas came through.

Now, to me, that still constitutes academic dishonesty.”

If Bush detects potential plagiarism, he initially talks to the student about the incident and notifies the department chair.

Depending on the severity of the case, Bush might also involve Upper School Assistant Director Adam Gelb. In the past, for two cases of direct plagiarism, Bush

upper school. Many wearing a mask do so temporarily as they recover from sickness, either voluntarily or at the behest of the nurse’s office. Only a handful of teachers still put on masks daily, and regular mask wearers cannot be found among the student body.

Art teacher Nina Ollikainen cites her vulnerability to COVID-19 and proximity to many students as primary reasons for masking up. “We work together really closely in the art room,” she said. “I’m within inches of everyone coughing and things like that, and we don’t have an active ventilation system.” Ollikainen said she has never contracted COVID-19 despite the uptick in cases Barada recorded in September.

Moviemaking and yearbook teacher Christina Ri is new to the Menlo community and was alarmed by the uptick in faculty cases in September, which has contributed to her continued mask-wearing even months later. Ri said that she is often around vulnerable family members, but she also cites her responsibility to her colleagues and students for her masking. “Simply putting a mask on will help me support other [faculty] and still be there for my students,” Ri said. “We saw how important teachers are during the pandemic: if they’re not protecting themselves, it impacts the community.”

“Protecting themselves means sometimes wearing a mask and can also mean vaccination, depending on the

person’s comfort level and health status or background,” Ri added.

While there aren’t students that routinely wear masks in the upper school, some, such as junior Jake Kaplan, kept up daily masking through the end of the 2022-2023 school year. Kaplan said that the continuing threat of both contracting and spreading COVID-19 and other airborne illnesses drove his masking habits, though other factors reinforced his decision to keep masking. “The air anywhere isn’t the healthiest to breathe, so it’s just more healthy to wear a mask,” Kaplan said.

Kaplan added that he keeps masks in his car just in case. For a few days in September, he said, the smokey air prompted him to wear a mask at school again, and he may remask if COVID-19 cases go up once more. For now, though, he keeps it off. “It just feels more comfortable [without it],” Kaplan said.

Barada also does not wear a mask regularly; like Kaplan, she finds masks uncomfortable. She added that new mask mandates were unlikely, but if SMC Health recommended them again, the school’s senior administrators would “probably” recommend masking requirements again.

Barada also stressed that precautions should still be taken to prevent the spread of all diseases. “When anyone has a communicable disease — not just COVID — and they are feeling unwell, they need to stay home,” she said.

reported the infraction to the then-Dean of Students, Tony Lapolla.

Spanish teacher Alita Guzmán hasn’t encountered students cheating during an in-class test. However, for essays done at home, she occasionally suspects that a student may have used a translator to write sentences or conjugate words. “When we take things home, if I can’t see the evolution of your writing and the drafts you submit, then I might have questions, and those questions could lead to the discovery of academic dishonesty, or they could lead to just deeper clarification, and then I feel better evaluating your work,” Guzmán said.

With the global explosion in AI usage, teachers have had to deal with a new form of cheating. Students can now employ AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Bard, to solve complex math problems, compose emails, write essays and translate sentences, among other tasks.

This technological shift is exemplified in Peyton’s second academic misstep — occurring at the end of their freshman year — when they got caught using ChatGPT on an English assignment.

This marked their second violation of Menlo’s academic integrity rules, leading to a Disciplinary Committee hearing.

The Disciplinary Committee — an integral part of Menlo’s disciplinary process — comprises the Upper School Assistant Director along with a select group of students and teachers. The committee addresses breaches of behavioral expectations, including cheating, substance abuse and physical altercations. Peyton appreciated the variety of perspectives the Committee provided, finding that the members provided a more nuanced understanding of the situation than a singular viewpoint from an administrator could.

Outside of the Menlo administration’s current policies on academic integrity and plagiarism, they have not placed any school-wide prohibitions on AI

usage. Instead, the formulation of AI policy has been predominantly delegated to the individual departments and teachers. “I think at some point, it’s entirely possible that there may be some institutional policies, but right now, we’re experimenting,” Upper School Director John Schafer said. Both Bush and Schafer acknowledged the challenges of establishing specific rules for an institution comprising numerous diverse departments with distinct needs.

Guzmán believes that the language department has been ahead of the AI game because complex translators like Google Translate debuted over a decade ago.

Consequently, many Spanish teachers have already devised assessments with the intention of thwarting AI and translator assistance. For instance, Guzmán’s inclass tests either circumvent the use of devices or employ stringent time constraints and speaking requirements to make any use of AI or translators easily detectable.

In the math department, where most graded assignments are in-class tests and quizzes distributed on paper, AI’s impact is minimal. However, AI usage on assignments can be more prevalent in writing-based classes like English and history. “I can tell you, every English teacher here — as with I’m sure every other teacher — is constantly now on the search for inconsistencies. It’s not something we want to do, but if there is a misalignment between pieces of your writing in class and out of class, that’s going to bring up some real questions,” Bush said.

History teacher Katina Ballantyne hasn’t discovered any problematic AI usage incidents among her students. She believes this is because, for large projects, she has many checkpoints where students turn their work in. Moreover, Ballantyne thinks that she could tell when a student used AI because she has access to their Google Docs. “If a student had zero work

Then-sophomore Sienna Swanson gets a COVID-19 vaccine during Menlo's vaccine clinic in the Spieker Center on Nov. 11, 2022. Staff photo: Sonia Dholakia

“If you’re excessively blowing your nose, excessively coughing, you’re disrupting people in the classroom that are there to learn,” Barada added.

“You should be at home and resting and getting better.”

When asked if and when COVID-19 restrictions would soften to mirror rules around other illnesses, Barada began talking about a new variant of concern before changing tack. “I have no idea,” she said. “I’m tired of COVID; aren’t you tired of it?”

done at 11 p.m. on a Tuesday night and then boom, on Wednesday they come in with a full rough draft, it’s pretty easy

Staff illustrations: Amber More

to see what’s realistic or not realistic,” Ballantyne said.

According to Bush, there are numerous reasons why students should not cheat. Even if they go undetected, cheating hampers their learning opportunities. Additionally, Bush believes there is an ethical argument as to why students should not cheat. “If you want to consider yourself to be a moral, ethical, good-charactered person, you have to behave that way,” Bush said. “And by making habits out of things that are — I think by anyone’s definition — unethical and immoral, it becomes a part of your character. You can fix it, but it gets harder and harder the more you do it.”

Walters believes that some cases of cheating are due to people taking the easiest route possible through school. “[However], many people cheat because their parents’ or dream colleges’ expectations are far above their own vision of what they’re personally capable of, and it breaks my heart to think that someone doubts themselves that much,” Walters said.

4

News

December 7, 2023

Menlo Park, County Pave the Way to a Safer Community

by SIENNA LEW

Menlo Park is currently on the road to improve traffic safety across town.

Since July 5, the local government has begun smoothing things over through paving activities throughout the city.

As explained by the City of Menlo Park website, the surface layer of asphalt in select areas will be repaved. Additionally, sidewalks and curbs that have taken significant damage will be entirely replaced. The status of this project is nearly complete; the city aimed to fully finish reworking roads by the end of fall 2023.

One such initiative launched by the City of Menlo Park was called The 2023 Pavement Preservation Project, which reconstructs unincorporated areas of San Mateo County such as Ladera and West Menlo Park. It entailed microsurfacing and slurry sealing – two types of pavement treatment – and bicycle striping for roads, among other improvements.

The latest status update from the city in December 2023 noted that road surface treatment was 99% complete, and that permanent traffic markers were placed starting Sept. 25.

More recently, starting on Nov. 6, the city of Menlo Park

partnered with construction company McGuire and Hester to begin planning road changes on Haven Avenue, on the Bay side of US-101. The resurfacing of asphalt roads are tentatively scheduled from spring to fall 2024, as of December 2023.

A similar project in Menlo Park occurred this past May. The lanes on Middlefield Road between Ravenswood Avenue and Willow Road were repaved near Menlo-Atherton High School.

Willow Road is a major street that connects East Palo Alto to Menlo Park and Atherton.

Overall, road resurfacing can considerably affect Menlo Park’s traffic in the short term. Drivers may need to take alternative routes in their commutes to avoid construction zones, which can be inconvenient

for students trying to get to school.

Additionally, road repaving usually involves hefty machinery, creating noise and physical pollution that can affect residents and neighborhoods. To mitigate this, no work will be done or scheduled on weekends, according to the County

of San Mateo. However, repaving roads can bring positive changes to the city’s safety in the long run. The city said that repaving can eliminate cracks, potholes and other road defects that may cause risk of accidents or vehicle damage.

Asphalt Paving Solutions, an asphalt maintenance company, states on its website that asphalt pavement typically lasts around 25 years. So once Menlo Park’s current repaving project has been accomplished, it may be a while before the city decides to revamp its roads again.

Staff illustration: Amber More

Juniors React to the Digital Transformation of the SAT

by JACOB REICH

Deciding between the SAT and ACT is a pivotal choice many high school juniors make. The introduction of the new digital SAT marks a departure from the traditional paper format, offering significantly more time per question than the current SAT or ACT, lasting two hours instead of three, delivering your score in days instead of weeks and including a

powerful built-in Desmos graphing calculator.

The College Board — the nonprofit organization that creates the SAT and AP tests — debuted the first digital SAT for international test takers in March 2023. On March 9, 2024, the next SAT testing date, all testing locations will only administer digital tests.

The College Board emphasizes the digital SAT’s advantages, including a

"For math, I found the digital [PSAT] much much easier just because you have Desmos. [...]

Also, I think another upside is that on the digital SAT, there are short passages."

reimagined testing format and a more efficient scoring system. For the reading and writing sections, the structure of the questions is also different: passages are shorter, and there is only one question per passage. Notably, the math section features a built-in Desmos graphing calculator, which can find the mean and median of numbers, graph functions and solve systems of equations.

Additionally, the digital SAT uses an

adaptive testing format, breaking the test into four modules — two for math and two for reading and writing. The difficulty of the questions in the second module of each section — be it math or reading and writing — is contingent upon the test taker’s performance in the initial module.

Because of the shift to digital, many juniors have now taken the PSAT both on paper and digitally, and they reflect on the differences below.

"The digital one was so much easier, so much shorter. The reading was so easy; the math was also easier."

–Audrey Hochstetler

–Jared Saal

Staff illustration: Andrea Li

"I kinda like the digital one. I think it was closer to the CAASPP test that I took all throughout middle school.

So there’s a kind of a sense of familiarity there, which I think made it easier. And then also having the Desmos calculator was helpful."

–Tyler Rattner

"I liked that there weren't long reading passages. [...] The shorter ones got to the point quicker and what the test was trying to test, which I like. I also liked all the tools that were available on the digital [PSAT] like Desmos."

–Deano Roberts

Opinions

December 7, 2023

5

Moo-ve Over, Dairy: Why You Should Consider the Switch To Plant-Based Milk

by SIENNA LEW

“

Many large corporations only have eyes for meeting the demand of dairy consumers, without considering the morality of their actions.

“

My dad has stopped requesting traditional cow’s milk on his morning coffee runs, and he’s not alone. Nondairy milk alternatives have recently skyrocketed in popularity: the American market for plant-based dairy grew by 15% from 2019-20 and 11% from 202122, according to McKinsey & Company.

Furthermore, The New York Times revealed that plant milk purchases totaled $2.5 billion by 2020, contributing to 15% of overall milk sales. Why? The benefits of plant-based milk are clear, not just for humans, but also cows on dairy farms.

It’s no secret that plant-based milk prices are around twice that of regular milk, and it would be unfair to assume that everyone can afford this alternative.

But for those who have the opportunity to make a difference, just by trying a new base for your morning coffee, please do.

The advantages are right in front of you.

First, the dairy industry takes cows not slaughtered for meat and abuses them as dairy vessels. They are forced to waste their lives inside concrete enclosures, repeatedly impregnated by artificial insemination for higher milk production.

Worse, these calves are immediately ripped away from their mothers at birth.

This is the harsh reality of the dairy industry: many large corporations only have eyes for meeting the demand of dairy consumers, without considering the morality of their actions.

“

New innovation with plant-based milk creates endless taste possibilities.

“

“Can I get an, uhh… a vanilla oat milk latte, please? Or if you don’t have oat milk, almond?” asks my dad. A few years ago, this question would have prompted an eyebrow raise at the very least. These days, it’s approaching the commonality of “How’s it going?”

Cows should not have to suffer endlessly just for their milk to land on a kitchen table — the welfare of animals should be prioritized. There are other options out there like non-dairy milk.

Cow’s milk has been a staple in human diets for millennia, and it’s not easy to shift from dairy to plant-based milk in a day. However, if there ever comes a chance for you to try dairy-free milk, I recommend that you take advantage of it.

Additionally, dairy-free milk’s nutritional benefits rival those of cow’s milk. Many dairy-free milks have less cholesterol and saturated fats. For instance, one cup of your average 2% milk contains three grams of saturated fat, according to the University of Rochester, while a cup of Oatly’s oat milk contains only 0.5 grams of saturated fat, according to Nutritionvalue.com.

While it is true that plantbased milks are often lower in protein than cow’s milk, they are naturally free from common allergens such as lactose, casein and whey proteins. This makes them a strong choice for those with dairy allergies or sensitivities. As someone who is lactose intolerant, I prefer plantbased milk even to Lactaid. When drinking plant-based milk, I know I will not be groaning with a stomach ache later. And I’m not alone: surprisingly, nearly 70% of the global population is lactose intolerant, though many do not realize lactose is causing their gastrointestinal problems. Going plant-based can ease both physical and mental discomfort.

Furthermore, new innovation with plant-based milk creates endless taste possibilities. A huge variety of non-dairy milk can appeal to different palates from nut milks such as cashew or almond milk, to grain milks such as rice or oat milk.

There are even pea-based milks, such as Ripple, which have numerous health benefits and come in a variety of tasty flavors.

Plant-based milk is now becoming mainstream as it benefits both humans and cows. Because of these upsides, switching to non-dairy plant milk is a worthwhile choice to make.

Staff illustration: Amber More

Menlo Should Not Hold Practices or Games During Breaks

by AARON WIDJAJA

Freshman Cole Milotich goes for the rebound during his freshman boys basketball practice after school. Many winter sports, such as boys basketball, had practices and even games this Thanksgiving break. Staff photo: Aaron Widjaja

bonds by giving families time to catch up and create lasting shared memories. For student-athletes, these breaks are especially significant. Their rigorous training schedules can mean leaving for practice early in the morning or arriving home late in the evening, intruding on time with their loved ones.

Furthermore, athletes’ tendency to overwork their bodies without a hiatus directly leads to physical exhaustion. According to the New York Hospital for Special Surgery, overtraining syndrome happens when an athlete “doesn’t adequately recover after repetitive intense training, and symptoms can include fatigue, declining performance, and potential injury” — not only minor sprains or breaks, but also lingering overuse injuries and serious illness. These effects, unfortunately, are often caused by intense sport specialization from a young age; family physician Deborah Gilboa, MD, reports “seeing 15-year-olds who have the same injuries as marathoners who are in their 40s.”

We should be aware of how late-night sports events and practices significantly decrease students’ time to improve their academic performance. Student-athletes already face demanding workloads, and late-night games leave limited time for studying. This time constraint results in increased stress, as everyone hopes to strive to have a balance. Let’s address this issue by providing student-athletes with real breaks that offer opportunities to catch up on academic work, reorganize schedules and reduce academic and physical stress. Regular rest promotes a healthier work-life balance, enabling students to better manage coursework.

Ross Ireland, head coach of the varsity girls soccer teams, however, believes that practicing during breaks helps athletes prepare for games and keep their energy up. He explains that, in joining the team, his players commit to staying home during February break to prepare for CCS playoffs: “League games, the league, competing and being successful in the league, all lead up to your seating and your placement and CCS. That’s the

grand finale.” He explains that Ski Week is a crucial time when players “should be ramping up [their] energy and desire to participate, not petering out and dwindling near the end.”

“

[Overtraining syndrome happens when an athlete] doesn’t adequately recover after repetitive intense training, and symptoms can include fatigue, declining performance, and potential injury.

The New York Hospital for Special Surgery

“

Menlo’s athletic program’s mission is to provide students “the opportunity to develop mind, body and character.” If we want to develop ourselves as athletes, it’s true that rigorous practice and competition schedules are necessary. But when does the amount of rigor cross the line? In recent years, Menlo student-athletes and community members have questioned the decision to hold practices during breaks. By holding these practices, Menlo’s athletic department contradicts its own mission; truly great athletes need to prioritize family time, rest and catch up on academics during their breaks.

Our breaks, nestled between long periods of academic responsibility, are rare opportunities for students to rejuvenate. Quality time at home not only fosters personal growth, but also strengthens familial

Although I agree with Ireland’s goal of training the players to prepare for competitions, I think a part of preparing for competitions is getting ample rest. Also, for major events like the CCS final, a tapering phase (a reduction in training intensity) before the event is a common practice in sports, as overtraining during the week preceding a crucial game might hinder players’ abilities to perform at their peak during the actual match.

In conclusion, it’s clear that people have very different ways of defining athletic excellence. I believe that Menlo needs to prioritize “developing mind, body and character” from a broader perspective, striking a balance between athletics, family time, rest, recovery and academic commitments. If we give student-athletes these opportunities to take a break, they can return to their athletic and academic endeavors with a renewed mindset, ready for a rewarding, fulfilling journey towards success.

6 Opinions 10 Things To Do Why Reading Is Important While Waiting for College Responses December 7, 2023

by ANDREA LI

Telephone poles and people were the two main obstacles in my younger self’s quest to read as many books as possible — mainly because they were always in my way as I walked around with my nose buried in a novel. Although I have now found less hazardous ways to read, I continue to love and reap the rewards of consuming literature; among other benefits, books have provided me with endless entertainment, an extended attention span and elevated critical thinking skills. Yet reading is on the decline in the U.S. According to a Gallup News poll, adults in America read two to three fewer books per year in 2022 as compared to 2001-16.

by TATUM HERRIN

1) Bake holiday cookies 2) Find a spelling mistake in the personal statement you already submitted

“

3) Binge-watch Hallmark movies

I found myself reading less and less.

But soon enough, the consequences [...] became apparent: I couldn’t focus long enough to read more than a paragraph at a time, let alone think deeply about anything.

4) Go ice skating at Winter Lodge 5) Consider a gap year 6) Light a peppermintscented candle 7) Wonder if admissions officers are deciding your future at this very moment

“

8) Cry 9) Buy cozy PJs at Target

: tions ustra rrin l l i f f He Sta Tatum

10) Remember that the colleges you get into don't define you.

You’re perfect!

A comic series by guest illustrator Jonah Block

Perhaps the decline in the number of books read can simply be attributed to the ever-expanding schedules of Americans. Or perhaps it can be attributed to decreasing attention spans, as reported by the American Psychological Association.

Regardless of the true causes driving a decline in reading for

most people, my own experience affirms both of the aforementioned causes. After starting high school, I believed I had no time to read for leisure; at the same time, social media decreased my attention span and demotivated me to read. I found myself reading less and less. But soon enough, the consequences of spending all of my free time consuming shortform content on social media became apparent: I couldn’t focus long enough to read more than a paragraph at a time, let alone think deeply about anything.

I am not alone in this experience, as a 2022 research paper by Cheng et. al demonstrates a negative correlation between social media and critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, reading requires and improves critical thinking skills.

Indeed, the only practice that halted the alarming degradation of my attention span and critical thinking skills was reading more books. I started by reading 10 pages a day, then moving on to twenty, and so on. It was difficult at first, but rewarding — when I could focus closely and consistently on a book long enough to finish it, I could finally also focus enough to form my own opinions.

Reading books, unlike social media posts, also encouraged me to deeply consider the meaning of what I was reading. Sitting down to flip pages of text implicitly allowed me to take more time to think, in contrast to the endless stream of information flashing past my fingertips on social media.

Beyond boosting

my ability to think deeply, reading has also vastly improved my writing skills, allowing me to emulate the styles of the numerous talented authors I’ve read. My writing skills have been endlessly valuable to me both in my personal life and in my academic career, specifically during the college admissions process.

While there’s nothing wrong with using social media in moderation, the rise of these applications becomes an issue when paired with a decline in reading. Although people, especially high school students, might not think that they have time to read, reading is possibly the most crucial thing students — and in fact, all people — can do to improve not only college essays but also their lives. So, to nurture our inner bookworms, I encourage everyone to take a trip to the library and pick up a book, whether it’s a graphic novel or "War and Peace," and try not to put it down.

Sta An ff illus dre a L tratio n: i

Opinions

December 7, 2023

7

Students Must Rethink Tutorial Time Usage

by ALYSSA McADAMS

ber More

Staff illustration: Am

creation of tutorial when it became apparent that freshmen require a bit more assistance with managing their time, tutorial is relatively unstructured. Many students take this lack of structure to mean it’s acceptable to use this block to wind down or do tasks that are not school-related.

However, we must give thought to the fact that the time for this block had to come from somewhere. Whereas there were once weekly assemblies, Schafer said, student life lost minutes in the schedule to make room for tutorials. Additionally, the classes themselves were shortened; a decision that some teachers report they agree with, whereas others wish they still had the same amount of minutes with each block per year.

“

We didn't cut out of class time and Student Life time to have pingpong time [...] knowing how to use that free time is a really important skill for being a good college student.

Upper School Director John Schafer

“

It’s 10:01 a.m., and you’ve just made it through your most boring class of the day. You know you should head to your math tutorial, but as you’re passing through the quad you see all your friends chatting and laughing at a picnic table. Why spend 40 minutes pulling your hair out over a math problem when you could just join your friends?

I’m guilty as much as any other student of using tutorial periods as a time to relax, talk with my friends, play spikeball or volleyball, grab a dessert from a bake sale or scroll absentmindedly through my phone.

Considering Menlo’s academic rigor, it’s understandable why students use their triweekly tutorial as a time for escaping the pressures of school. It’s no secret that using the time in this manner is discouraged by Menlo teachers and faculty, but this doesn’t stop students from gathering on the quads and in the student center to converse or play chess. However, it’s vital that students rethink their productivity during tutorial, as doing so will respect the intention behind creating the block in the first place, drastically improve your mental and physical health, make it easier to complete your coursework and allow you to develop time-management skills that will benefit you in the future.

Tutorial hasn’t always existed; even 10 to 15 years ago, the only tutorial-esque block was optional and took place weekly before school on Fridays, according to Upper School Director John Schafer. Students and teachers alike reported appreciation for the block, and it was incorporated into the weekly schedule during the schedule overhaul of 2015.

Besides the rule that freshmen must spend tutorial in a classroom with a teacher, a policy established a few years after the

When you consider the fact that so much class time was sacrificed for tutorials, spending the time on work unrelated to school just doesn’t feel fair to our teachers.

“We didn’t cut out of class time and Student Life time to have pingpong time,” Schafer said. He said that though there are no rules as for where sophomores, juniors or seniors must go during tutorial, he feels that it’s fair to hold the expectation that students ‘make the most’ of the 40 minutes. He himself is often on the quad at the start of the block encouraging students to spend the time in a classroom with a teacher.

I resonate with the feeling of wanting to spend tutorial

The Coat of Arms Editor-in-Chief...............................................Tatum Herrin Print Editor..........................................................Andrea Li Online Editor................................................Lizzie Freehill News Editor.................................................Geoffrey Franc Opinions Editor.......................................Alyssa McAdams Arts & Lifestyle Editor................................Sonia Dholakia Sports Editor..............................................Devon Schaefer Spread Editor................................................Amelie Giomi Social Media Director......................................Jacob Reich Creative Director........................................... Amber More Copy Editors.........................Miki Kimura, Eleanor Kinder Marketing Director....................Claude Kingsley-Williams Video Editor.................................................Caroline Clack Assistant Arts & Lifestyle Editor.................Lucas Kawamoto Assistant Sports Editor.................................Asher Darling Assistant Spread Editor....................................Sienna Lew Assistant Opinions Editor.............................Aaron Widjaja Adviser...............................................Miles Bennett-Smith

We want to hear your voice!

We appreciate hearing your opinions, whether it's through guest writing, letters to the editor or comments on our website and Instagram @menlocoa.

Please reach out to the editor at tatum.herrin@menloschool.org

or to The Coat of Arms 50 Valparaiso Avenue Atherton, California 94027 (650) 330-2001

Visit us online at menlocoa.org

blowing off steam during a busy day, but I now begin to understand what Schafer means when he says that tutorial is not the time to do this. We must remember that Menlo is a college preparatory school; we should be able to manage our own time without being micromanaged by adults. As we progress through our time at Menlo, it’s important to take more responsibility over our schoolwork.

Tutorial is one of the aspects of Menlo’s college prep mission that helps us to do so. “When you go off to college, no one’s paying attention to you,” Schafer said. “You have a ton of free time; knowing how to use that free time is a really important skill for being a good college student, and [tutorial] will help you practice those skills now.”

Making ample use of tutorials won’t only serve to fulfill the visions of Menlo teachers and faculty; it will benefit your overall happiness. Completing work during tutorial means less work to do after school, meaning that you can spend time after school doing things that bring you joy or even going to sleep a couple hours earlier than usual. Should you do this, you won’t even need to use your next tutorial block to decompress.

There are also so many resources available, from peer tutors to teacher one-on-ones, that can help you with homework that’s harder to complete individually.

I am committing to at least trying to be more productive during tutorial, and I hope that the rest of you will do the same.

Mission Statement The Coat of Arms is an independent, student-led open forum for student expression. All decisions relating to the management and content of The Coat of Arms are fundamentally the responsibility of students. Coat of Arms reporters strive to acknowledge their internal biases and tell meaningful stories with empathy, fairness and journalistic integrity.

The Coat of Arms staff is committed to building on the legacy of past staffs while setting the foundation for future members.

8

Opinions

December 7, 2023

For Our Sake and Your Own, Stay Off The Senior Quad

by TATUM HERRIN

I know it’s hard to imagine, but there was once a time when I myself was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed junior. Before that I was a sophomore, and before that I was a freshman. And throughout each year, I longed to take my place on the senior quad. As a sophomore, I wanted to talk to my older sister and her friends, just a few steps out of reach. I yearned for the plentiful lunch tables and to tan in the sunlight that always seemed to shine most brightly on that prized stretch of turf.

“

"What makes [the senior quad] so magical? It's quite simple, really. I waited.

day that you become a senior, the fulfillment you could have as you realize you’ve finally reached your senior year and all its perks.

There’s also the matter of grade closeness, both emotionally and spatially. While I can’t speak for everyone, I’ve sensed a stronger bond between the class of 2024 since we’ve become seniors. I believe it’s a result of having a place where we can’t help but come together. We are physically united within the bounds of the quad, and the comfort around each other that follows is a natural and recurring phenomenon.

While inter-grade friendships are valuable, a close intra-grade bond offers a unique sense of belonging. We are experiencing all of life’s challenges at the same time, and it’s nice to be able to lean on one another or to know we all have each other’s back; the quad offers a shared space to do so. If other grades encroach on the senior quad, its specialness will dissipate; soon, it won’t be a

“

I’ll let you in on a little secret. The lunch tables and extra chairs always end up dragged away. The rain pours down on the senior quad just like anywhere else.

And what you might perceive to be a bountiful meadow is made up of the same shreds of plastic that make up your grade’s quad. And yet, I love the senior quad just as much as I imagined I would, if not more. So what’s the secret? What makes it so magical?

It’s quite simple, really. I waited. For three years, I never even considered stepping foot on the senior quad.

Now that I have it, I can’t help but feel special. I’ve formed an unbreakable association between seniority and the senior quad. When I’m on it, I feel like the adult I (almost) am. There’s a sense of satisfaction and wistfulness for how far you’ve come.

So before you, a non-senior, casually cut across the quad on the way to the cafeteria or leisurely step onto it at 3:01 p.m., consider these effects: you are making the privilege the current seniors patiently waited three years for feel not so special anymore. Furthermore, you are stifling the joy that you yourself could experience the

place where most seniors congregate. It’ll be just another patch of turf, void of its former glory and bonding capabilities.

I understand that non-seniors want to be around their senior friends. I am one of many class of 2024 members with friends in other grades who I want to be around during the school day. But if you as a non-senior want to hang out with your senior friends, kindly invite them off the senior quad to join you somewhere else.

I know that, right now, it is very rare for a nonsenior to shamelessly walk on the senior quad during school hours. It’s not a problem yet. But the signs are there. Something as simple as taking a few steps on the senior quad on your way to lunch causes a shift and tone, a sense of casualness. While after-school hours are more lenient, waiting till most seniors are gone is a sign of respect that you will soon enjoy yourself. For our sake and your own, keep the magic alive.

Staff photo and illustration: Alyssa McAdams and Tatum Herrin

Comparing Bite-Sized Media Platforms: TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts

by AARON WIDJAJA

From TikTok to Instagram Reels to YouTube Shorts, the consumption of bitesized media has skyrocketed.

These video-based social media platforms have recently exploded in popularity by offering users access to a wide variety of

version, YouTube Premium. Thus, TikTok is a lot more commonly used in an

economic sense.

While YouTube has a more robust reputation and older history than the other apps, I have to admit I’ve barely ever used it. Shorts are quite troublesome unless you have the YouTube app on your phone, and viewing Shorts on a computer also takes some extra clicking. In other words, Shorts just aren’t as instantaneous as Reels or TikTok. rea

nd

:A

on

ati

str

llu

ff i

Li

know about you, but to me, that’s pretty old! Another key difference is the time limit for videos. On Instagram, the limit is 30 minutes, compared to TikTok, which limits videos to a mere three minutes. The longer format of reels spurs creativity and allows the promotion of more products, leading to more brands and sponsorships appearing on reels.

It creates a dynamic platform for both content creators and advertisers to engage with users in a more versatile way.

YouTube Shorts are similar to TikTok and Reels in that they also make it painfully easy to find yourself scrolling through for hours. But there’s also a key difference: like traditional YouTube creators, Shorts creators can earn revenue through YouTube’s Partner Program, which involves ads, channel memberships and merchandise integration to generate revenue. This is different from TikTok in that YouTube integrates these ads into its overall platforms, whereas TikTok chooses specific videos to be used as ads.

TikTok also has a creator fund where people can make money off of views, compared to YouTube’s ad program.

This creator fund is a lot more efficient, as views are guaranteed for money, compared to ads, which could be ignored or removed with YouTube’s upgraded

Sta

entertaining content and easy interaction with other users. But which short-form video platform reigns supreme?

Reels, TikTok and Shorts each have their own unique appeal and possibilities.

TikTok, famous for its addictively easy-to-use interface

and personalized algorithms, is the most relevant to my friends and I. TikTok’s algorithms are notoriously adept at curating content based on each user’s preferences, delivering an endless stream of entertaining and relevant videos.

In addition, TikTok’s “infinite scrolling” allows you to move on to the next video without much finger movement. The app makes content creation almost as easy as content consumption, offering a wide range of creative tools like effects, filters and music. TikTok’s engaging and interactive features, like duets and challenges, foster a sense of community and collaboration.

TikTok ensures users cannot pull away from the cycle of swiping through.

On Aug. 5, 2020, Instagram released its Reels feature, a new spin on the TikTok model, complete with similar features like infinite scrolling, a "For You" or "Explore" feed and duets, allowing users to interact and engage creatively with each other’s content. What makes Reels different, however, is its user base. TikTok’s main audience is Gen Z, whereas a full half of Reels users fall between the ages of 25 and 34. I don’t

Spread

December 7, 2023

Menlo's Self-Taught Musicians Share Their Stories

9

by Alyssa McAdams It’s no secret that Menlo is a second home to countless creative minds, from visual artists to dancers to photographers. However, there is one group within our community that stands out, simply because of their pure passion for their craft — self-taught musicians. Four of Menlo’s self-taught musical artists share their experiences with their instruments.

Ari Kaufman and Her Guitar: Strumming Life's Melody

Luke Rogers Discovered His Passion for The Piano During Quarantine decided it was time to learn to read music. He used YouTube to accomplish this as well. “It’s one of those things where the more you do it, the easier it gets,” he said. Rogers’ parents gifted him a piano after about a year of playing, and he makes time to play it every day whenever he has free time.

“I feel like it could turn into something more than a hobby.”

Junior Luke Rogers

Staff photo: Alyssa McAdams

Junior Luke Rogers hadn’t touched a set of piano keys until 2020, when he discovered that he could use his family’s small, unused keyboard to cure his quarantine boredom. He was quickly hooked, especially on the keyboard’s presets of classical songs. “Once I started listening to those, I only started playing classical from there on,” Rogers said. “I think that classical music is really underrated.”

After learning a few songs by imitating instructional YouTube videos, Rogers

Rogers has involved himself in music at Menlo in various ways; he’s enjoyed taking AP Music Theory and is currently working on an IP Capstone project in which he is making a composition based on Chopin, his favorite composer. Though he’s never taken lessons or performed in front of others, he’s potentially interested in the idea of eventually getting formal instruction and the opportunity to play for other people. “I thought it was cool to have this be something I could do on my own whenever I wanted and to not be forced into it,” Rogers said. “But I feel like it could turn into something more than a hobby.”

Bodie Callaghan Follows in His Brother's Footsteps by Playing the Drums For sophomore Bodie Callaghan, playing drums started as an excuse to spend time with his older brother. Callaghan, who already played the piano, was intrigued by his brother’s music and learned to play the drums by listening to and imitating him. The two played in a

If you were to walk into Drake’s Restaurant in San Carlos on the weekend or during happy hour, chances are you’ll see junior Ari Kaufman performing for the restaurant’s patrons. Kaufman, a self-taught acoustic guitarist and singer, considers music to be her biggest passion.

“If I had to picture a perfect life, I'd be a musician.”

Junior Ari Kaufman

“If I had to picture a perfect life, I’d be a musician,” Kaufman said. “It’s my favorite thing in the world, and I love playing for people.”

Like Rogers, quarantine boredom drove Kaufman to try out her dad’s unused acoustic guitar, and she learned to play by watching her father on his

“I love playing for people; I get to do my hobby and others get to enjoy it.”

“I can see myself in a college dorm with a couple friends just playing music for the fun of it.”

Junior Ari Kaufman

electric guitar and learning chord patterns. “I never really learned how to read strum patterns, I just [strummed] what felt natural and stuck with that,” she said.

“So I don’t actually play any song right, but I like how it sounds.” She’s been

Sophomore Bodie Callaghan

rock band together for a few years until his brother broke off, but Callaghan was hooked. “I guess I just never lost interest,” he said. “I played when I could and slowly improved as I got a better sense for keeping time.”

Though his parents support his and his brother’s musical endeavors, neither play instruments and never required that their children do –– Callaghan said that he simply has fun playing. He has participated in the jazz band in both his freshman and sophomore years and plans to continue until he graduates. “I love playing music, and it’s a good elective for when I have a ton of academic

Photo courtesy of Ari Kaufman

singing for theater since she was in elementary school and enjoys adding vocals to her music.

Her father is not the only other musician in her family; Kaufman’s older brother is a pianist, while her mother performs as a vocalist in a rock band. In fact, performing an intermission set for her mother’s band encouraged Kaufman to reach out to and book her gigs with Drake’s.

Kaufman said that her perfectionist nature dissuades her from playing with other musicians in jazz band or orchestra as she dislikes not having full control over the music produced. Individually, however, she performed a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” for the 2022 Veteran’s Day

“I never really learned how to read strum patterns, I just [strummed] what felt natural and stuck with that.”

Junior Ari Kaufman

assembly, led her fellow junior class on a campfire sing-along during their retreat and has performed her original pieces for Menlo Voices for Hope, among other instances. “I love playing for people; I get to do my hobby and others get to enjoy it,” Kaufman said.

Photo courtesy of Bodie Callaghan

classes,” he said. “Whenever I have jazz band during the day it’s really nice.” Callaghan enjoys the performances he gets

“[When I picture the future] I’m definitely playing the drums.”

Sophomore Bodie Callaghan

to do for Menlo, which include concerts, holiday assemblies, admissions events

and graduation.

Callaghan’s interest in music spans beyond just playing the drums; he continues to practice the piano and even occasionally DJs. He experiments with different genres, often transitioning between jazz, rock and pop styles. “[When I picture the future] I’m definitely playing the drums,” Callaghan said. “I can see myself in a college dorm with a couple friends just playing music for the fun of it.”

Go to menlocoa.org for two more self-taught musicians’ stories

10

Center Spread

December 7, 2023

Senior Charlie Hammond’s college applications are a multi-step process. He wants to continue theater in college and is applying to both Bachelor of Fine Arts theater programs and nonBFA theater programs. BFA programs are more intensive and specific to theater while non-BFA or Bachelor of Arts programs offer a broader liberal arts education. First, to qualify for BFA programs, Hammond must pass through a pre-screen, which happens in November. Each school has different requirements for their prescreens, but generally, a student will submit different

December 7, 2023

Students Draw Up Portfolios for College

Behind the Scenes of Menlo Theater Productions

by Amelie Giomi

by Lizzie Freehill

clips of them singing, delivering a monologue and dancing. Sometimes, students have to audition live via Zoom. If he passes through the pre-screen, the school will invite him to an audition on campus during January or February. “There are multiple rounds of auditions,” Hammond said. “There are callbacks and stuff too, in addition to the normal application process of essays and everything else.”

Sometimes, a collection of universities and colleges will meet in one city in February to conduct in-person auditions for a student’s

“My portfolio just shows another part of who I am.

I’m trying to show the colleges that part of me.”

Senior Lucinda Schafer

convenience. “Most schools will go to LA over one weekend, so I can audition for them there. But for some schools I have to fly out to their campuses to audition,” Hammond said.

The application process for the BFA theater programs also requires additional arts supplement essays. “I have to write essays on, like, ‘Why do you want to be an actor? What’s important about musical theater in the world today?’” he said.

The applications to non-BFA theater programs are more streamlined. The school recommends submitting art supplements, such as a theatrical reel of performance clips, songs and monologues but does not hold in-person auditionsauditions.

Hammond notes that the theater application process differs from the athletic recruitment process because there is no one within the school advocating for the student in admissions as a coach does for an athlete.

Admissions are based on the auditions alone.

However, the two processes do have much in

“There are multiple rounds of auditions. There are callbacks [...] in addition to the normal application process.”

Senior Charlie Hammond

common. “It is similar in the sense that it’s a unique application process that’s different from your average applicant into the school,” he said. “And there’s a lot of extra requirements and steps in the process.”

The theater programs that Hammond is applying to are very selective. “Most of the schools have under a 5% acceptance rate because the class sizes are so small,” he said.

“So [there] is definitely a lot of anxiety because it’s so much more [...] selective even than your average selective university.”

Hammond said that the time he spends ap-

“Being exposed to faculty and resources and productions, I think that is extremely valuable.”

Charlie Hammond

plying to each school doubles because of the extra art supplements and auditions, although for him, the work is worth it. “I definitely want to be involved in theater or film somehow whether it’s acting or directing or producing,” he said. “Getting better as an artist and being exposed to faculty and resources and productions, I think that is extremely valuable.”

Three times each school year, the Menlo community gathers in the Spieker Center for the Arts to watch the drama department’s productions. On these special weekends, audiences get to see the shows after they’ve come together, but what they don’t see is the time, hard work and collaboration that preceded the final work.

Depending on whether the show is a musical or a play, the length of production is around six to eight weeks, including the performance week. Between the initial week of rehearsals and the beginning of tech week, the cast has no more than seven weeks to block scenes, memorize lines, learn arrangements as well as choreography and then present the

“You just don’t come and hang out, you know, it’s purposeful.”

Upper School Drama Director Steven Minning

final product. If a school break falls during any of these timelines, the days off are respected and rehearsals are resumed once school is back. Breaks do not count in the six to eight week timeline.

The rehearsal schedule is made on a week-to-week basis. Each Sunday, the week’s rehearsal schedule is released so that the cast and crew know what days and times they need to be at rehearsal. “You just don’t come and hang out, you know, it’s purposeful,” Upper School Drama Director Steven Minning said. “People know by that Sunday what their rehearsals are for that week so they can plan their lives around that.”

Putting together a show is an adaptive endeavor and no two production processes are exactly alike. “[How quickly a show comes together] is dependent upon a lot of things.

It’s dependent upon schedules; it’s dependent on the length of the show, how complicated the show is, [...] where we are in the actual physical place, set wise, you know?” Minning

Staff illustration: Amber More

said. “Yeah, it’s great to have it all done way in advance so we can rehearse versus sometimes it always doesn’t work.”

For the preparation to move as fluidly as possible, Minning asks that lines be memorized as quickly as possible once a scene is blocked.

“There’s no date set, because that’s too rigid, because people may need extra time to work,” Minning said. The same goes for memorizing songs. As for memorizing choreography, Minning said it is key to practice as much as possible.

“We spend so much time with each other [...] doing the show and getting everything ready.”

Senior Amory Healy

Tech week is the week leading up to the show with longer rehearsals where all of the elements are rehearsed together in preparation for the final performance. Senior Amory Healy describes tech week as grueling, especially when balancing homework and getting enough rest to be fueled for another long day of rehearsal. “Everyone’s always pretty burnt out throughout the week, but then as soon as we get to Friday, [...] I think that everyone kind of becomes happier. I guess everyone pulls together and is excited to be able to be doing the show and to be getting through it,” Senior Amory Healy said. “And there definitely is a newfound focus in the entire cast as soon as opening night happens.”

Healy explained that there is usually a trend on show weekends of a high-energy opening night on Friday fueled by nerves and adrenaline. Then, on Saturday, there can

be a lull because they’ve already gotten through the show once and know they can do it. Finally, on Sunday, the cast is high energy and “on their A-game” once again as they perform the show they’ve worked so diligently on one final time.

According to Healy, the showgoers, especially if they’re at the Sunday matinee, may walk out of Spieker a little bit sad that the show is over because they enjoyed it so much.

Meanwhile, backstage, the cast and crew are saying goodbye to a project they’ve poured their heart into for the last couple of months.

“It is devastating,” Healy said. “I think it’s really hard for all of us because we spend so much time with each other and we spend so much time on this thing, on doing the show and getting everything ready. I think it is really hard for all of us to kind of let go.”

However, Healy said that even though the weeks following a show can be difficult, the cast and crew are all super appreciative of the family they have

formed, constantly sending text messages to the group chat and sustaining the bonds between them.

11

10

Center Spread

December 7, 2023

Senior Charlie Hammond’s college applications are a multi-step process. He wants to continue theater in college and is applying to both Bachelor of Fine Arts theater programs and nonBFA theater programs. BFA programs are more intensive and specific to theater while non-BFA or Bachelor of Arts programs offer a broader liberal arts education. First, to qualify for BFA programs, Hammond must pass through a pre-screen, which happens in November. Each school has different requirements for their prescreens, but generally, a student will submit different

December 7, 2023

Students Draw Up Portfolios for College

Behind the Scenes of Menlo Theater Productions

by Amelie Giomi

by Lizzie Freehill

clips of them singing, delivering a monologue and dancing. Sometimes, students have to audition live via Zoom. If he passes through the pre-screen, the school will invite him to an audition on campus during January or February. “There are multiple rounds of auditions,” Hammond said. “There are callbacks and stuff too, in addition to the normal application process of essays and everything else.”

Sometimes, a collection of universities and colleges will meet in one city in February to conduct in-person auditions for a student’s

“My portfolio just shows another part of who I am.

I’m trying to show the colleges that part of me.”

Senior Lucinda Schafer

convenience. “Most schools will go to LA over one weekend, so I can audition for them there. But for some schools I have to fly out to their campuses to audition,” Hammond said.

The application process for the BFA theater programs also requires additional arts supplement essays. “I have to write essays on, like, ‘Why do you want to be an actor? What’s important about musical theater in the world today?’” he said.

The applications to non-BFA theater programs are more streamlined. The school recommends submitting art supplements, such as a theatrical reel of performance clips, songs and monologues but does not hold in-person auditionsauditions.

Hammond notes that the theater application process differs from the athletic recruitment process because there is no one within the school advocating for the student in admissions as a coach does for an athlete.

Admissions are based on the auditions alone.

However, the two processes do have much in

“There are multiple rounds of auditions. There are callbacks [...] in addition to the normal application process.”

Senior Charlie Hammond

common. “It is similar in the sense that it’s a unique application process that’s different from your average applicant into the school,” he said. “And there’s a lot of extra requirements and steps in the process.”

The theater programs that Hammond is applying to are very selective. “Most of the schools have under a 5% acceptance rate because the class sizes are so small,” he said.

“So [there] is definitely a lot of anxiety because it’s so much more [...] selective even than your average selective university.”

Hammond said that the time he spends ap-

“Being exposed to faculty and resources and productions, I think that is extremely valuable.”

Charlie Hammond

plying to each school doubles because of the extra art supplements and auditions, although for him, the work is worth it. “I definitely want to be involved in theater or film somehow whether it’s acting or directing or producing,” he said. “Getting better as an artist and being exposed to faculty and resources and productions, I think that is extremely valuable.”

Three times each school year, the Menlo community gathers in the Spieker Center for the Arts to watch the drama department’s productions. On these special weekends, audiences get to see the shows after they’ve come together, but what they don’t see is the time, hard work and collaboration that preceded the final work.

Depending on whether the show is a musical or a play, the length of production is around six to eight weeks, including the performance week. Between the initial week of rehearsals and the beginning of tech week, the cast has no more than seven weeks to block scenes, memorize lines, learn arrangements as well as choreography and then present the

“You just don’t come and hang out, you know, it’s purposeful.”

Upper School Drama Director Steven Minning

final product. If a school break falls during any of these timelines, the days off are respected and rehearsals are resumed once school is back. Breaks do not count in the six to eight week timeline.

The rehearsal schedule is made on a week-to-week basis. Each Sunday, the week’s rehearsal schedule is released so that the cast and crew know what days and times they need to be at rehearsal. “You just don’t come and hang out, you know, it’s purposeful,” Upper School Drama Director Steven Minning said. “People know by that Sunday what their rehearsals are for that week so they can plan their lives around that.”

Putting together a show is an adaptive endeavor and no two production processes are exactly alike. “[How quickly a show comes together] is dependent upon a lot of things.

It’s dependent upon schedules; it’s dependent on the length of the show, how complicated the show is, [...] where we are in the actual physical place, set wise, you know?” Minning

Staff illustration: Amber More

said. “Yeah, it’s great to have it all done way in advance so we can rehearse versus sometimes it always doesn’t work.”

For the preparation to move as fluidly as possible, Minning asks that lines be memorized as quickly as possible once a scene is blocked.

“There’s no date set, because that’s too rigid, because people may need extra time to work,” Minning said. The same goes for memorizing songs. As for memorizing choreography, Minning said it is key to practice as much as possible.

“We spend so much time with each other [...] doing the show and getting everything ready.”

Senior Amory Healy

Tech week is the week leading up to the show with longer rehearsals where all of the elements are rehearsed together in preparation for the final performance. Senior Amory Healy describes tech week as grueling, especially when balancing homework and getting enough rest to be fueled for another long day of rehearsal. “Everyone’s always pretty burnt out throughout the week, but then as soon as we get to Friday, [...] I think that everyone kind of becomes happier. I guess everyone pulls together and is excited to be able to be doing the show and to be getting through it,” Senior Amory Healy said. “And there definitely is a newfound focus in the entire cast as soon as opening night happens.”

Healy explained that there is usually a trend on show weekends of a high-energy opening night on Friday fueled by nerves and adrenaline. Then, on Saturday, there can

be a lull because they’ve already gotten through the show once and know they can do it. Finally, on Sunday, the cast is high energy and “on their A-game” once again as they perform the show they’ve worked so diligently on one final time.

According to Healy, the showgoers, especially if they’re at the Sunday matinee, may walk out of Spieker a little bit sad that the show is over because they enjoyed it so much.

Meanwhile, backstage, the cast and crew are saying goodbye to a project they’ve poured their heart into for the last couple of months.

“It is devastating,” Healy said. “I think it’s really hard for all of us because we spend so much time with each other and we spend so much time on this thing, on doing the show and getting everything ready. I think it is really hard for all of us to kind of let go.”

However, Healy said that even though the weeks following a show can be difficult, the cast and crew are all super appreciative of the family they have

formed, constantly sending text messages to the group chat and sustaining the bonds between them.

11

12

Spread

December 7, 2023

Senior Chloe Lee Reframes Art One Photo at a Time

by Amelie Giomi Large rectangular banners line the left wall of the Creative Arts and Design Center as students enter the building from its main entrance. The banners feature students peering through camera lenses, playing the trumpet, acting as mimes and dancing. Students are greeted with a poster that reads ‘Celebrating 100 Years of Arts’ in Menlo’s staple gold and blue colors.

Senior Chloe Lee walked in, saw these photos and had a vision: she decided that she was going to reinvent the CADC wall.

She noticed that the photos on the CADC wall were taken years ago by the school featuring students who had already graduated. “I saw that the photos were really outdated,” Lee said. “So I decided to create my own photography.”

graduated, Lee believes that the current photos don’t represent the creative arts department today. One of Lee’s goals is to showcase an array of arts and she hopes to create timeless pieces that don’t need to be updated for at least the next four years.

When it comes to photography projects, this isn’t Lee’s first rodeo. She took photos for the sopho-

“I saw that the photos were really outdated. So I decided to create my own photography.”

Senior Chloe Lee

Last spring, Lee started planning a year-long project to replace the photos on the CADC wall with six posters for each discipline that constitutes the Menlo arts. The orchestra and the jazz band may mesh into one music banner, while moviemaking and photography will merge in another. She will depict dance, drama, fine arts and vocal music on different banners tied together by a secret theme. A 16-photo collage will also line the CADC wall adjacent to the entrance with portraits of current students engaging in different aspects of the arts. “This is more of a creative approach to representing Menlo’s creative arts,” Lee said.

“The theme is posters. We’re going to create a poster for each of the arts.”

Lee is still in the planning stages of her project, having only made sketches of the designs. She hasn’t taken the photos yet because she is still deciding who she should represent on the wall. Lee is also planning on incorporating animation and graphic design into her photography posters to represent that aspect of the creative arts. She hopes to hang the photos on the wall in the spring before she graduates.

Because the students on the wall have already

A collage of Chloe Lee's photos and projects

Photo by Karen Xin

Photo by Karen Xin

more Semi-Formal Dance and hung them in the student center, in addition to creating a photo booth for Valentine’s Day. Lee took photos of students holding a physical frame she made that said ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ and then printed them out. Then, last spring, Lee pitched her newest idea to her photography teacher Amanda Kyed. “When she has a project, she’s really dedicated to it,” Kyed said.

Lee is working with Photographer and Digital Content Specialist Kevin Chan, who encouraged her to make her project long term and is now helping her pick designs.

Since Chan already had plans to redesign the CADC wall, he offered to collaborate with Lee. “I think it’s great that we’re having a student work on this as opposed to it just coming from [...] the staff or the school’s administration,” he said.

“That way it’s a projection of the arts from [a] student’s perspective.”

While Chan provides some direction in terms of logistics, Lee is ultimately responsible for creating the pieces and designing the wall. “She’s quite cognizant of what can look good in spaces and how to tie things together,” Chan said. “She’s just been very excited to work on this project.”

Lee plans on studying architecture in college and is creating an art portfolio to send to colleges.

The camera is a creative outlet for Lee. “Through the camera lens you can see things that you can’t really see if you weren’t looking through the camera,” Lee said. “It gives you a different angle on a lot of things that I feel like you can incorporate into your own life as well.”

Creative Arts Helps Students Prioritize Mental Health

by Caroline Clack Art is an unlikely hero in addressing students’ struggles with mental health –– especially in a competitive environment like Menlo, where making time to prioritize mental health is often overlooked.

Menlo alumnus Sean Nesamoney (‘23) created Voices for Hope, an annual benefit concert held each spring that spreads awareness about the stress-relieving qualities of music and the importance of mental health resources. Every year, student organizers invite notable guest speakers to share their experiences regarding mental health. Talented Menlo students also perform music, art and poetry for the Menlo community.

According to Voices for Hope Co-Directors Ana Banchs Rodriguez and Isha Gupta, these performances are intended to break up the talks from speakers that can be hard for the audience to digest given the weight of the subject. Rodriguez and Gupta said that student performances also create a safe space to talk about anxiety and connect the arts and mental health at Menlo.

For many Menlo students, art helps them prioritize their mental health. In particular, creative arts classes give students a break from their stressful academic surroundings and instead cultivate more creative interests.

Junior Karen Xin is one of those students. Xin first encountered the arts when she began playing the piano at six years of age. Xin still practices the piano

in her free time because it serves as an escape from the world around her. “I like to think of it as a way for me to connect with a different part of myself, a more creative side that doesn’t really have any rules,” Xin said. “There’s no wrong answers. I can just be free.”

Instead of working towards a measurable goal, Xin tries to enjoy the process.

Recently, Xin has begun to write songs in addition to practicing the piano. While Xin hasn’t been able to devote as much time to music this school year due to academics, athletics and social activities, she still feels it’s important to make time for pursuing passions.

Much like Xin, sophomore Carissa Satuito has also found comfort in music. Her involvement in choir,

Illustration by Maya Stone

multiple musical instruments and songwriting has helped her process overwhelming emotions. “I have a lot of emotions and stuff like that, and it’s hard for me to get past them [sometimes]. [So] what I tried doing is writing [them] down in song form, which I feel like really helps me because it helps me get it out into the world,” Satuito said.

Art is also a big part of Sophomore Diya Karthik’s life. Currently, Karthik is creating a portfolio of visual art that shines a light on overlooked issues in our society. For Karthik, her art helps her make sense of complex thoughts and emotions she’s feeling. Karthik is also an experienced dancer and dance allows her to decompress after a long day. “Even when I’m, like, most tired, when I get up and dance it just makes me feel alive,” Karthik said.

It’s not just Menlo students that find ways to incorporate arts into their mental health journey. Upper school art teacher Nina Ollikainen has found comfort in art her whole life. Growing up in a stressful environment while struggling with anxiety and depression, Ollikainen turned to art as an escape from her everyday life. Being able to put pencil to paper takes her mind away from her worries and helps her relax. “As soon as I start drawing and picking up a pen, it takes my mind off of any worries and it makes me relax.

I just love it,” Ollikainen said. This source of peace is something she wants her students and children to be able to experience as well.

December 7, 2023 13 Sports Student-Athletes Deal with Chronic Conditions

by ANDREA LI

game where she wasn’t aware that she had been yellow-carded due to not hearing the referee.

For most chronic conditions, studentathletes need a doctor’s clearance to begin playing, according to Assistant Athletics Trainer Stephanie Green. Specific conditions require extra communication with a student’s physician and coaches.

“If a student has asthma, they have an asthma action plan that is agreed upon between them, their parents and the physician. So we just make sure that those action plans are followed,” Green said.

Action plans are written forms that also exist for other conditions like food

“

It's a struggle sometimes, to like, hear the coach and hear their plays.

Junior Mia Monsalve

Staff illustration: Andrea Li

“

Junior Scarlett Bundy sprints across the field with vigor and vitality. As she runs, the green grass blurs beneath her feet; her arms pump in tandem with her lungs. Yet, because she is a part of the approximate 9.5% of teenagers with asthma in the U.S., according to the CDC, her lungs are assisted by an inhaler.

Without it, asthma attacks would affect her physical performance.

“I’ll be [...] in a soccer game, or flag football, or lacrosse, and I have to step out and I have to go take my inhaler,” Bundy said. “[Asthma] can hinder my ability sometimes to have endurance.”

Meanwhile, a chronic condition affects in-game communication for junior Mia Monsalve, who is hard of hearing and uses hearing aids. “It’s [..] a struggle sometimes, to like, hear the coach and hear their plays. [...] I just hear lots of screaming going on from fans,” Monsalve said. Monsalve recounts a specific experience she had during a lacrosse

allergies, anaphylaxis, seizure disorders and diabetes. On the form, students list out crucial information ranging from emergency contact numbers to details regarding the severity of their condition.

At the same time, student-driven communication with trainers is key for student-athletes with chronic conditions.

“Most of the time, it’s self-monitored by the student and we just have to be kind of cognizant that they have these conditions

so that if there were to be a flare-up or an incident, we know how to manage it,” Green said.

Monsalve further communicates with teammates about her condition and mentions that her team’s awareness is helpful. “I think that everyone’s aware on my school sports [teams] and my clubs of my hearing aids. So they make it easier for me,” Monsalve said. “[If my teammates] hear something they’re like, ‘heads up,’ and they repeat things,” Monsalve said. “It’s a common occurrence [...] that we just repeat the plays [...] and just making sure that I’m aware of what’s going on.”

Having asthma can be a struggle for Bundy. She notes that it is especially frustrating when her asthma medication does not kick in properly, forcing her to lie down and use her inhaler after playing for only 15 minutes.

For Monsalve, the act of wearing hearing aids during intense games can also cause issues in itself. “Sometimes if a girl hits me too hard [...] there’s an issue where, like, my hearing aid stops to work for a second,” Monsalve said.

“There’s been one instance where my hearing aid stopped working, and I felt really uncomfortable to take it out. [...] sometimes I get really embarrassed to have hearing aids so, like, I won’t fix them in the middle of the game,” Monsalve said.

Above all, Bundy emphasizes patience as an important trait to have when supporting student-athletes with chronic conditions or asthma.

Turf Replaces Grass on Baseball Field

by ASHER DARLING

In years past, being on the Menlo baseball team didn’t just mean playing the sport. It meant dedicating hours to monotonously sweeping water towards pumps on the tarped field protected from a raging storm. It was the responsibility of the program to unflood and prepare the grass field for their game the next day. If they failed, the game would be postponed or canceled.

Fortunately, the program will have a new turf field at Cartan for the upcoming baseball season kicking off in February, reducing the amount of upkeep that the field requires. Junior Ben Salama remembers this strenuous process, which involved waking up early on Saturdays last year to try and keep the field in game ready shape. “For multiple hours [players and coaches] would rake water off the field. It was painful,” he said. “When I heard the field was going to be turf, I was most looking forward to the lower maintenance it would need.”

The vision for renovating the field had been in plans for over five years, however, it wasn’t until this June that outside landscaping company Colony Landscaping finally broke ground.

According to project manager Sam Titchner, transforming the field has been quite the process. Titchner’s team has treated the soil with lime, developed a robust 2,000 foot piping system underground, imported five inches of rock onto the field and created new fencing around the outfield. “We are currently layering on the turf and will probably finish in [December],” Titchner said.

“Closing out the project, you really start to see everything come together and look great.”

Varsity baseball head coach David Trujillo has been heavily involved with the project and is impressed by what has been accomplished. “When I was approached about getting it done I was all for it,” he said. “Now, the field looks amazing.” Trujillo believes that the benefits of a turf field outweigh the loss of a grass field. “We’ll miss the smell of the grass, and getting dirty [on the infield dirt], but the weather isn’t much of a factor now which was a major goal behind [the project],” Trujillo said.

The new artificial surface will change overall play, speeding up rolling balls, but provides true and accurate bounces.

Salama believes that the change to turf will have an impact on the team’s fielding and hitting performances. “I think that we will have less errors without as many weird hops,” he said. “I also think that (Right) Foreman Uriel Hernandez hammers down a nail into the turf on Nov. 6.

(Below) The field is a work in progress and will be completed in mid-December.

Staff photos: Asher Darling

the new field will help our bats, turning singles into doubles and moving over runners.”

Trujillo hopes that the arrival of the new field will help him in continuing to build Menlo’s baseball program. “The goal is to compete with those bigger schools and to put the best program we can out there [on the field],” he said.

“Getting better all starts with facilities and the culture that we create.”

Girls Tennis Recap

by DEVON SCHAEFER

The team poses after the state championship.

Photo courtesy of Jen Hsia

On Nov. 20, the varsity girls tennis clinched a spot in the inaugural CIF State Championship with a 4-3 win against Monta Vista. Unfortunately, the team lost to Southern California powerhouse Mater Dei 7-0 in the final.

Going into the season, the team was uncertain about how they would perform.

“More than half of the team was brand new, and most of them were freshmen,” varsity tennis head coach Bill Shine said.

“I had no idea where anybody was going to play on the ladder, except our top two.”

Junior Andra Braicu and sophomore Elise Chen had played No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, the year before.

While the team finished with a 24-7 record, six out of their seven losses occurred in the first 15 matches of the season. “In the beginning part of the season, we had a tough time because we had a really hard schedule,” Shine said. His decision to play difficult teams was intentional because he believed that would help the team improve the most.

“When you play really good teams, they show you what you need to work on.”

Shine’s tough schedule paid off in league play. Going into the postseason, the Knights finished at 1st place in the West Bay Athletic League and 3rd in CCS. After beating Monta Vista 5-2 in the CCS final, the two teams met again in the NorCal final.

The NorCal final was no simple feat.

Many members of the team struggled in their first set and six out of the seven matches went to a third set. Thankfully, the team pulled through in the end. “I was really happy because we won it for our coach, Bill, because he’s retiring this year,” freshman Sophia Jia said.

Heading into the state final, the team was nervous because they were missing two of their starters: Braicu and sophomore Sulia Gayle, who plays No. 1 doubles. Ultimately, despite their defeat, Chen believes the teams were competitive with one another. “Even though the score doesn’t really say it, I feel like the matches were close.”

Shine attributes the team’s improvement throughout the season to their hard work. “From the beginning of the season to the end is definitely the most improved team I think I’ve ever coached,” Shine said. “That’s a tribute to their hard work and their determination during matches to do their best.”

While Shine will not return to coach next year, he appreciates the time he had this past season. “It was really fun to be a part of.”

14

Sports

December 7, 2023

Community Reacts to New and Renewed Olympic Sports

by DEVON SCHAEFER

version of the game called Sixes. Because there are fewer players on the field, Sixes is played on a smaller field and with a shortened game length. “It’s more reasonable just because not everyone in the world can just create a whole team,” Choe said. “But at the same time, I feel like it’d be really good to show the true form [of lacrosse].”

Kim believes there are many positives to the revised game, such as its fast pace. “I’ve seen exhibition games

While cricket may not be very popular in the U.S., junior Kieran Pichai enjoys watching the sport and has been to many tournaments before. “I think [adding cricket] is a step in the right direction for the Olympics,” Pichai said. “And I think that India will definitely dominate the tournament.” Cricket is the second most-watched sport worldwide and Major League Cricket, a professional cricket league in the U.S., held its inaugural season this summer. “A lot of different continents play it, especially continents that are not as well represented in the Olympics right now,” he said.

Junior Isha Gupta plays competitive squash and can’t wait to see squash in the Olympics.

“I’m so incredibly excited,” Gupta said. She is excited for the recognition her sport will get. “I think like every kid when they’re little is like ‘I want to be in the Olympics.’ [...] And you kind of have that aspiration. And like, for squash, you didn’t have that same bigger, global stage.” While there are several global squash tournaments, Gupta believes the Olympics holds a special status. She recalls times when people have told her that squash is not a sport and hopes the Olympics will help prove that not only is squash a sport, but a physically demanding one as well.

While Gupta is not sure if she will go pro after college, she is planning on watching squash in the 2028 Olympics. “I’m definitely going to try to go to L.A.” Il M lust ay ra a tio St n on by e

In October, the International Olympic Committee approved six new sports for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Flag football, which Menlo introduced as a girls varsity sport this season, continues to have its moment in the spotlight and is set to make its Olympic debut alongside squash. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, and cricket are all being reintroduced to the Olympics.

Varsity boys lacrosse head coach Blake Kim is excited to see lacrosse in the Olympics but recognizes the importance for other sports as well.

“The announcement was huge for a lot of sports that have been hoping to get that global recognition,” Kim said.

Likewise, sophomore lacrosse player Elia Choe believes lacrosse’s inclusion in the Olympics will be a positive one. Men’s lacrosse appeared in the Olympics in 1904 and 1908 but women’s lacrosse has never been in the Olympics before. “I think it’s really good exposure for the sport,” Choe said. “I’m really excited about it.”

Because lacrosse is primarily played in the United States and Canada, many lacrosse players will seek out another country they are eligible to play for where there will be less competition to join the national team. For Choe, that would mean representing Korea. “If I got the chance to represent my country in the Olympics, I definitely would [go],” she said.

Lacrosse will be played in a more condensed 6v6

at a very high level with the style they’re going to play,” Kim said. “It looks like an ice hockey game, played on turf, basically.”

Baseball, a sport played internationally already with tournaments such as the World Baseball Classic, was revived in the 2020 Olympics after a 12-year hiatus but will not return until the 2028 Olympics. “Baseball is a sport a lot of different countries participate in, there are lots of different leagues like in Latin America and Asia so adding it to the Olympics is pretty cool,” senior baseball player Ryan Schnell said.

CoA Mini Crossword

by GEOFFREY FRANC

Across:

1. Represented by roaring lion in title sequences, abbr.

4. Put it in a field and it becomes a flower 5. Roche Tournament pool 6. Former Menlo entrance exam 7. ICE, ATF, DEA or USPIS investigator, colloquially

Down:

1. Watching sports without the commentary 2. 2010’s TV show where a cheerleader head coach marries herself 3. Only teacher to coach all three seasons, abbr.

4. Menlo's only coed ball 5. Cycling image

Scan QR code for solutions

December 7, 2023 15 Sports Previewing Menlo’s 2023-24 Basketball Seasons

by DEVON SCHAEFER

Boys: [November], we’ve been playing together since the start of June,” he said.

Head coach Ben Batory returns for his third season with the Knights and is working on adapting to the team’s undersized roster. “When you look at some of the teams on our schedule [...] they have front lines that could be 6 foot 8, 6 foot 7, 6 foot 6,” Batory said. The team’s transition game and speed will be necessary in order to match the size of other teams, according to Batory. “We really want to speed up the pace of the game. And to do that, it requires us being in shape and it requires effort.”

After a handful of scrimmages in late November, the boys’ season officially begins with a tournament at Los Gatos High School on Dec. 5. The following week, at home, the team will play Carmel on Dec. 12 and Thomas More on Dec. 16.

The 2023 CCS Division IV Champions girls basketball team also looks to have a successful season this winter after a third-place finish in the West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division and a winning 18-11 record.

The team made it to the Division IV NorCal Finals last season but fell in a heartbreaking 42-39 loss to San Domenico.

Former head coach John Paye stepped down from his coaching job in September to focus more on his family and career in real estate. Ryan Cooper is now the head coach and plans to continue

“

Ruiqi Liu lays the ball up around a Crystal defender. File photo: CoA staff

If we're honored enough to be [...] in the [Open] Division that'd be fantastic.

Head coach Ryan Cooper

Sam Reznik dribbles the ball in a game against Sacred Heart. File photo: CoA staff

“

The boys basketball team ended their 2022-23 season with a close 58-53 loss to Scotts Valley in the first round of the CCS Division IV tournament. Last year, the team finished with an 11-14 record while placing fourth in the competitive West Bay Athletic League. The team looks to improve their standing in the upcoming season. “If we could steal a game from Sacred Heart this year, that’d be a success,” senior Sam Reznik said.

The 2022-23 season marks the loss of four of the Knights’ starters: Lucas Vogel, Robby Enright, Will Eggemeier and Brooks Mead. “We lost some very important seniors such as Lucas, but also a lot of depth with Robby, [Will], and Brooks,” Reznik said. Despite the team’s losses, Reznik is confident the team will do well this year. “Even though we only had our first week of tryouts in

Girls:

the success of the team. “They’ve come off of two really successful seasons and there’s been a lot of history with our girls basketball team, in terms of winning,” Cooper said. Cooper’s goals are to compete for the league title and have a successful run in the postseason. “If we’re honored enough to be a top eight school and be in the Open [Division] that’d be fantastic. If not, we’re going to go into our division and try to be the champion.”

In the 2023-24 season, the Knights will face the loss of several crucial graduated seniors including Jordan

Brooks, Riley Jensen and Hannah Satuito.

“Obviously losing our seniors is a big hit to our program. They carried a lot of experience [...] but this year, we’re getting a bunch of freshmen and I really like how they look,” junior Ruiqi Liu said.

Many talented athletes are returning to play this year, including Liu. Liu led the team in both rebounds and blocks per game last season. Fellow junior Karen Xin, who was the point and assist leader, will be back on the court for her third varsity season as well. Senior Summer Young also started for the Knights and was second in both rebounds and blocks last season.

The girls’ season officially began on Nov. 21 with a 40-32 win against Los Altos. The Knights continue their season with two more tournaments –– one at Mills High School and one at Terra Nova High School –– before resuming their preseason play.

Looking Forward to Menlo's 2023-24 Soccer Seasons

by ELEANOR KINDER

Boys:

Girls:

In the 2022-23 season, the boys soccer team placed second in the West Bay Athletic League below Sacred Heart Prep. The team is hoping to come back even stronger this season.

Last year, four seniors were on the team: Aidan Skinner, Dylan Gold, Edwin Alvarez and Ethan Yuen. “We lost a lot of really good seniors,” senior captain Sandro Velazquez said.

There are 12 current seniors playing on the team this winter. “Our returning seniors are a strong and proud group. Not only in playing experience, but time spent together within the program. It’s very clear that this season cycle means a lot to them,” head coach Daniel Hicker said.

The varsity team has many assistant coaches to assist the players, including Eric De La Cerda, who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes II as a goalkeeper.

“We have a team leadership group consisting of four seniors and a junior and sophomore representative. We meet weekly to discuss the constructs of the program and continue the feedback loop for our growth and development,” Hicker said.

Although the season is just starting, the team is looking forward to playing together once again. “We’ve built this kind of brotherhood amongst us,” Velazquez said.

The close-knit team is excited to continue practicing and getting better.

“We’ve got to work towards the top to be at the top,” Hicker said.

In the 2022-23 season, the girls soccer team won the West Bay Athletic League. This winter, they’re coming back for more.

It won’t be easy, as junior Angelica Chou is currently out after tearing her ACL in March. Chou was recognized as the Most Valuable Player by the coaches and Midfielder of the Year for the West Bay Athletic League last season. “She’s a completely dominant force for us,” head coach Ross Ireland said. “It’ll take a lot of effort to make up for her absence.”

The team lost 10 seniors last year, many of them starters, including Tabitha Corcoran, who was the Defender of the Year for the West Bay Athletic League last season. According to Ireland, there are four or five potential players to fill in for Corcoran’s position of center back.

“I do think that this year’s freshmen and sophomores have the potential to fill those gaps,” Ireland said. He also believes the current juniors can step in to fill these roles.

While sophomore goalkeeper Bianca Putanec was already on the team last season, now that Sam Sellers has graduated, Putanec will play a more prominent role on the team as the primary goalkeeper. “She will fill in comfortably,” Ireland said.

Although the team lost many seniors last year, the players believe the underclassmen will step up and contribute significantly to the program. “We’ll see how they’re going to fit into the team, and

we’re excited to gauge how well they do,” senior and captain Dorothy Zhang said.

The girls tied their first game of the season 3-3 on Nov. 28 against Sequoia and lost their second game 1-0 against Woodside on Nov. 30. They have four more preseason games and a tournament before beginning league play on Jan. 9. “We have high hopes for this year,” Zhang said.

(Right) Gabriel Sandoval dribbles the ball up the field during a home game at Wunderlich.

(Below) Dorothy Zhang protects the ball from a Sacred Heart player. File photos: CoA staff

16

Sports

December 7, 2023

COMMITTED CORNER Bradford Tudor, Middlebury College

Joelle Kim, Amherst College

by ELEANOR KINDER

by SONIA DHOLAKIA

This summer, senior Joelle Kim verbally committed to playing Division III golf at Amherst College.

Kim began playing golf recreationally when she was eight years old but only started competing in individual tournaments the summer after her freshman year. Kim credits her freshman experience on the Menlo girls golf team for preparing her for those tournaments. She also feels that her love for being on the Menlo team contributed to her interest in furthering her golf career. “I just felt a lot of joy playing on the Menlo golf team. And I thought ‘Oh, this is really fun. Let me look to see if I want to do this more seriously,’” Kim said.

Kim’s impact on the Menlo team is also recognized by her coaches. “She always accepts the opportunities that golf offers to grow and improve herself,” assistant golf coach Francis Santora said.

“I believe this quality of acceptance and her dedication to improvement will propel Joelle forward in her college career, golf career and all that follows.”

The summer after her sophomore year, Kim traveled to the East Coast for the American Junior Golf Association at Killington tournament where she had the opportunity to talk with collegiate coaches for the first time.

Kim continued to play in tournaments throughout her junior year and received her first unofficial offer in February of 2023. “Junior year was prime recruiting year,” she said.

When it came to choosing a college, Kim knew she wanted a school that was strong academically and athletically.

Amherst exceeded that criteria. When

Photo courtesy of Joelle Kim

she visited in February of her junior year, Kim realized it was where she wanted to be. “There’s just a feeling,” she said. Kim received an offer from Amherst on Aug. 1, 2023.

“It's similar to Menlo, which I really like. The classes are Menlo-sized classes.

I visited a class, a psych class, where there were maybe 20 kids. You don't see that at [most] colleges,” Kim said.

In addition to the academic experience, Kim was excited about the golf team. Not only is the team strong, finishing eighth in the NCAA DIII Championship in 2023, but Kim also felt a sense of camaraderie among the players. At Amherst, the men’s and women’s golf teams share a coach, meaning the combined 16-20 person team practices together during the season. “I really wanted [a larger team], especially at a smaller school.

Having a sense of community is really important to me,” she said.

Senior Bradford Tudor verbally committed to playing Division III lacrosse at Middlebury College in August of 2023.

Tudor began playing lacrosse for his local club team, Coyotes, when he was in second grade. In middle school, he began playing for ADVNC Lacrosse, a competitive travel team. “During that time, my main sport was soccer [...], so lacrosse kind of went by as my second priority,” Tudor said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tudor had time to step back and reevaluate how much he wanted to continue playing soccer. In the end, he decided to focus on lacrosse.

As a captain of the Menlo boys lacrosse team, Tudor is a role model for his teammates. “He has grown into a very impressive leader for our program. He’s very hardworking. He’s very responsible,” varsity boys lacrosse head coach Blake Kim said. Tudor’s comments and voice

File photo: CoA staff

have a large influence on the team and staff, according to Kim. When Tudor was in 10th grade, he heard conversations about recruiting; soon enough, it became a goal of his, so he began working toward it.

Recruitment was a long process for Tudor, spanning from sophomore to senior year. “I’d been doing a ton of East Coast tournaments, which gives you the most exposure to coaches,” Tudor said.

When recruiting time came for Division I schools, Tudor wasn’t certain if he wanted to play Division I or Division III, so he waited to choose between the two options.

During that fall, after discussing with his family, Tudor decided he wanted to play for a Division III school. “I spent the entire fall communicating with coaches,” Tudor said. For Division III schools, recruitment doesn’t happen until Aug. 1 of the player’s senior year. “On Aug. 1, obviously, coaches could call me again and I was able to pick the school that I wanted, which was Middlebury,” Tudor said.

Kim also assisted Tudor by communicating with the Middlebury coach and other coaches. Kim is confident that Tudor made a great choice and anticipates that he will enjoy his time at Middlebury. “If he feels like they’re not making him a better person and a better player, he’ll voice his opinion about it, and it’s a good quality to have,” Kim said.

Tudor likes many aspects of Middlebury, including the location and the focus on athletics. “I also think the community and student population there is really the type of people that I fit in with,” Tudor said. “There’s a plethora of activities to do in Vermont. I think it’s a beautiful location.”

Cormac Mulloy, Stanford University

by LIZZIE FREEHILL

“I’ve known and coached Cormac since he was in fifth grade. [...] Cormac has been this uniquely [...] interested, strong student of the game,” boys water polo head coach Jack Bowen said. “Every session we would work together, literally

Photo courtesy of Cormac Mulloy

in fifth grade [...] Cormac would come up after the session and say something like, ‘You know what, when you heard us doing this drill, the E-Step drill, I’m wondering…the off the hand, you had us do this, but could it…’ and he was just

so naturally inquisitive, that never went away for the next seven years.”

That passion and curiosity for water polo paid off in September when senior Cormac Mulloy verbally committed to play Division I water polo at Stanford University.

Mulloy’s offer and ultimate decision to play at Stanford came from a unique opportunity he had this summer. “I chose Stanford because I was able to practice with them over the summer, and [...] the coaches cared so much about the program and everyone was super dedicated and driven,” he said. “If I could come up with a program, it would be Stanford.”

Bowen believes that the summer practice was an incredible opportunity, not only because it allowed Mulloy to grow and gain experience but because it allowed Stanford to see the type of teammate and player Mulloy is. He explained that recruiting is so difficult for college coaches because it’s hard to find someone, whether it be a coach or a parent, without an unbiased opinion of the player. “But when you get to have them train on your team, then the coach can realize, ‘Oh, so [...] yeah, he’s a good goalie, and this is

what he’s going to add to our culture for four years,’” Bowen said.

However, before Mulloy moves down the street to begin his collegiate water polo career, he’s moving abroad for a year to play professional water polo in Europe. Although his plans are not set in stone, Mulloy and Bowen are excited for the experience he’ll get from it. “He’s going to hear a really different style of coaching, which I know he will take pieces from and add to his game. He’s going to see some really different styles of shooting; that’s just going to make him a better goalkeeper,” Bowen said. “He's going to come back a different, better goalie, for sure.”

While Mulloy’s excited for his future, he’s also grateful for his Menlo team. “Menlo’s been a super fun experience. In my opinion, what makes Menlo so great is the people on the team are just all like, genuinely phenomenal. I don’t have anything bad to say about any of the teammates I’ve ever played with.” he said. “And the culture is just really, really strong. I’ve never not looked forward to practice; it’s a bright spot on my day all the time.”

Arts & Lifestyle

December 7, 2023

17

The Coat of Arms Rates Study Spots

by CAROLINE CLACK & ELEANOR KINDER

With finals around the corner, studying for exams is more important than ever. Distractions, noise or even just a bad atmosphere can make studying harder than it needs to be. On the other hand, a good study environment will help you study efficiently in order to be successful and stress-free throughout the testing period. Here is a list of our favorite study spots on the Menlo campus and Menlo Park downtown that appeal to students with various studying preferences.

The Menlo library’s common area is designed for studying and collaborating.

With comfy couches and communal tables, it’s a good place to meet with academic coaches, study with friends or complete assignments on your own.

The library opens on weekdays at 7:30 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 5 p.m. on Fridays.

Unfortunately, this space is not open to students on weekends.

Throughout the school day, the library can be loud and busy, especially shortly before school, during tutorial, during lunch and right after school. If you’re looking for a quiet space to study, you should come early in the morning or stay later in the afternoon, but if you want a place to socialize with friends and be semi-productive, this is your spot. The Menlo library is easily accessible in terms of proximity to Menlo and, of course, has free Wi-Fi for students.

Cafe Borrone has been a business in our community since 1979, first in Redwood City and now in Menlo Park.

Standing 0.7 miles away from Menlo or about a 17-minute walk, it could be a staple study spot for Menlo students. Cafe Borrone sells food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast, the pastries and banana pancakes are a staple. Depending on the time and day, it can get pretty busy and loud, especially during the weekend.

We recommend going at around 3-5 p.m. when it’s usually quieter and less busy.

Although Cafe Borrone is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, it’s open on Wednesday through Friday from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. as well as on the weekends until 4 p.m., so there’s time to work after school or during a free period on the weekdays.

Cafe Borrone doesn’t have free Wi-Fi, but you can borrow Kepler’s Wi-Fi right next door.

Coffeebar, about a 10-minute walk from campus, was founded in Truckee, California in 2010 and has expanded to multiple other locations since then.

Coffeebar sells both drinks and food; although food is easily accessible, there can be a long line when it’s busy. It’s usually busy in the mornings but quiets down by the afternoon. Coffeebar offers ample seating and tables, so even when it’s busy there are usually places to study. It can get chaotic, but plenty of Coffeebar’s patrons rely on noisecanceling headphones.

Clockwise from top right: Menlo library common area, Coffeebar, students working in the Student Center, library quiet rooms. Staff photos: Caroline Clack & Eleanor Kinder

Coffeebar has free Wi-Fi for public use that is easy to connect to. It’s open every day of the week from 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Along with that, Coffeebar has both indoor and outdoor tables, which can be nice if you want to sit outside where it’s a bit quieter.

In the Menlo library, students can find two options for quiet studying. Students may use small soundproof conference rooms or the larger silent study room, where students can work independently.

The silent room does not need to be reserved, so students have easy access to a quiet area to focus with individual desks. These spaces are intended solely for studying which means they have few distractions and limited noise.

Students are able to access the school Wi-Fi, and although the quiet rooms are supposed to be distraction-free, it’s difficult to ignore the commotion during the library’s peak times. The library is open every weekday and the hours are from 7:30 a.m-7 p.m on Monday through Thursday and until 5 p.m. on Fridays. The library’s quiet rooms can be a great place to study and get a lot of work done.

Posh Bagel, in downtown Menlo Park, is a short 10-minute walk from the Menlo campus. Depending on the time of day, Posh can get busy during peak hours (around 9 a.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. on weekends) but is usually pretty quiet. Posh opens at 7 a.m. every day of the week but closes early at 4 p.m. on weekdays.

While it’s a given that Posh Bagel serves its namesake bagels, you can also choose from a selection of sandwiches, wraps, pastries and beverages. In terms of food, this place is perfect for a light snack or a whole meal. Both inside in the booths and outside at the tables, the atmosphere is brightly lit and quiet –– albeit with the occasional loud customer. If you’re looking for a productive space away from Menlo, this is an ideal location.

These are our favorite places to study on and around the Menlo campus based on the atmosphere, proximity to Menlo and availability of fueling snacks. While studying at your house is sometimes the most efficient method, having options with different atmospheres is important when studying becomes a priority.

18

Arts & Lifestyle

December 7, 2023

Around the World and Across the Country: Two Menlo Teachers Reflect on a Year of Travel

by SONIA DHOLAKIA

“

I wanted to really hit a hard reset on myself.

“

Math teacher Randy Joss

trip. Joss viewed the trip as an opportunity to escape the fatigue of teaching during COVID. “I wanted to really hit a hard reset on myself,” he said.

Joss told Menlo he would not be renewing his yearly contract for the 202223 school year, and while the school was unable to guarantee him a job upon return, they did have an opening for him this school year.

Buxton was in Penang from June of 2022 to Aug. 1, 2023. During her time there, she played the violin and viola for the Penang Philharmonic. “That ended

Randy Joss (left) and Tanya Buxton (right) during their trips across the U.S. and Southeast Asia, respectively. Photos courtesy of Joss and Buxton

up being a really good way to meet locals and have a common experience,” Buxton said. “I would often have people over to my apartment and we would do musical ensemble groups just for fun.”

Buxton found more ways to meet new people by learning to play mahjong and joining a hiking group where she traversed through the jungle in Malaysia.

She especially appreciated the expat community she discovered in Penang.

“Malaysia itself is very multicultural, but even the expat community that I had contact with was quite diverse,” she said.

Buxton also visited international schools in Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia, India and Bhutan, where she was able to connect with other teachers. “I have new colleagues from around the world,” she said.

Joss and his wife Joan left California in their van mid-June of 2022 and returned in May of the following year.

They visited 41 states as well as the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario. When he reflects on his trip, Joss highlights three key experiences. For one, he gained a deep appreciation for the natural beauty encountered on his journey, specifically citing Maine and New

Mexico for their different landscapes.

Joss also took the trip as an opportunity to learn more about the history of the United States, specifically the Civil Rights movement. When Joss and his wife drove through the American South, they stopped in the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. “It was amazing and fascinating and challenging. It’s a part of history we don’t dive into often enough,” Joss said.

Finally, Joss enjoyed connecting with people from across the country during his

“

During the sabbatical year, I had a lot of time to think and be creative.

Biology teacher Tanya Buxton

“

Whether living 8,000 miles from home or driving 27,000 miles across the country, Menlo teachers Tanya Buxton and Randy Joss may have taken very different sabbatical years, but they both are bringing back new insight to their teaching.

Buxton, who teaches AT Biology and Biotech Research, spent a year in Penang, Malaysia with her husband after her husband was sent there on a one-year contract by his company, Analog Devices.

Buxton has been teaching at Menlo for 24 years, and was grateful the school allowed her to take a year off. “It was actually a pretty easy decision; we thought it would be a great adventure,” she said.

Joss, who teaches Upper School Math, embarked on an 11-month journey across the United States with his wife in a van they purchased and renovated for the

journey. Whether it was old family, new friends at their campsites or even former

Menlo administration members Cindy Lapolla, Tony Lapolla and Beth Bishop, the trip allowed Joss and his wife to meet and reconnect with friends and family.

Upon returning to Menlo, both Joss and Buxton find they bring a refreshed perspective to teaching. Joss is enjoying being able to teach math classes and also help students in the learning center. “I’m doing a [...] mix of things, which has been really great for me,” he said.

Buxton is implementing what she learned in Penang into her class curriculum. “I feel like during the sabbatical year, I had a lot of time to think and be creative. I feel like I’ve brought a lot of new ideas into the lessons,” Buxton said.

She is using her experience climbing the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, Mount Kinabalu, to better inform her teaching of cellular respiration and the body’s reaction to high altitude. Her biotechnology class is also learning about new pharmaceuticals, and she was able to encounter a lot of plants being used for medicinal purposes during her time hiking in the jungle. “Places I was [visiting] set off a light bulb on certain things,” Buxton said.

Selected Student Profile: Arki Temsamani

by ALYSSA McADAMS

Q: What do you do to relax outside of school?

Q: What’s your favorite thing about playing varsity boys tennis?

Q: What do you play currently for Menlo tennis?

I take some drum lessons, I play tennis and hang out with friends, stuff like that.

[I enjoy] video games sometimes, skiing and golf too.

Just the team and the fact that everyone treats each other as brothers. And I was a freshman last year and everyone just treated me as an equal, even the seniors, so I thought it was great.

I play No.1 doubles and I’ll probably try to get to some singles.

Q: Favorite warm-up song?

I’ve lived on three different continents.

Asia, Australia, which is where I was born, and then here.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do during the holiday season?

Definitely skiing. I [also] get to see my cousins; my family lives in Australia so I go out there sometimes during the holidays and get to do some surfing.

Probably some Drake or something like that.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to ski?

At the moment, yeah.

Colorado; I ski there all the time with my parents.

Q: What are three things on your bucket list for before the end of sophomore year?

Q: What’s your favorite smell?

Probably, like, some new shoes or something. Just because, I don’t know, it’s just a rewarding smell.

Q: Is Drake your favorite artist?

I want to get a 360-degree jump in skiing, and I want to get higher up in tennis on the Menlo roster and just learn how to surf.

Q: What’s something that most people don’t know about you?

Q: What’s your technique for studying for finals?

I’m not really good at studying but I’d say just a lot of review and [taking breaks] and then just do it over again. But it didn’t go that well last year.

Q: What’s a pet peeve of yours?

My biggest pet peeve is maybe when you’re talking to someone and they’re just not listening.

Arki Temsamani (right) with Nikhil Agarwal (’23) after Menlo won the NorCal tennis championship. Photo courtesy of Temsamani

Arts & Lifestyle

December 7, 2023

19

Students and Teachers Reflect on New Humanities Electives

by CAROLINE CLACK

Staff illustration: Amber More

where some of the students had been involved in the juvenile justice system.

According to Ballantyne, the perspectives she learned from her students opened her eyes to the realities of the justice system.

Moreover, she has always been interested in how the American justice system works and how it has evolved over time.

With units about how criminal trials function, dilemmas facing the justice system like a shortage of public defenders and the increase in incarceration since the 1970s, the course Ballantyne designed covers her interests. She is especially excited for the last unit in her course, which addresses the differences between the U.S. justice system and other systems around the world.

Criminal Justice student and junior Lauren Mrva described the class as an enlightening course that has sparked her interest in a possible career in the justice system. “I think that this is really important for me to know, beyond Menlo and beyond college,” Mrva said.

Ballantyne encourages students who are curious about the U.S. justice system or students who are interested in learning something new to take this elective.

Ballantyne hopes that students will learn critical thinking skills, how to analyze factually based evidence and evaluate media coverage with a grain of salt.

In addition to Criminal Justice,

Psychology is another new, semester-long elective offered this year. Psychology is taught by history teacher Dylan Citrin Cummins, who believes that the concepts of psychology are important for high school students to understand.

Cummins uses media clips, discussions and advertisements to cover material like the psychology of marketing, human friendships and romantic relationships.

“

This is really important for me to know, beyond Menlo.

Junior and Criminal Justice student Lauren Mrva

“

With so many new elective options, it’s difficult to not wish for the ability to take on more classes. This year, Menlo began offering a variety of new humanities electives, such as Criminal Justice, Psychology: A Beginner’s Guide to Your Brain and Economic Theory.

Some of these new electives are semesterlong classes, while others occupy a full academic year. With the end of the semester approaching, teachers and students reflect on these new electives and consider ways to improve each class.

Criminal Justice is a new semesterlong history elective that started last fall, taught by Katina Ballantyne. The idea for this class was inspired by Ballantyne’s time teaching at a large public school,

Cummins wants to teach students to take a step back from the events of their lives and recognize how psychology is affecting those around them as well as themselves. With teaching a new elective, Cummins is able to craft the curriculum around his students’ interests.

Psychology student and senior Emmy Ford appreciates how impactful this class feels from others she has taken and allows her to relate the lessons to her own life.

Another new semester-long elective is Economic Theory, taught by history teacher Charles Hanson. This class was inspired by the AP Economics class Menlo offered in years past. However, because the class has lost its AP status, Hanson now has unlimited creativity in terms of the class curriculum; he is now excited to teach what he referred to as economics’s “greatest hits.”

The first quarter of this class covers microeconomic concepts, or the study of the effects of individual actions, while the second quarter focuses on macroeconomic concepts or the study of how the economy functions as a whole. This class prepares students to take Hanson’s spring elective, Environmental and Development Economics.

Economic Theory student and junior Will Hauser has enjoyed the engaging nature of this class; according to Hauser, the class is never dull because there is so much new content to learn. Hauser also appreciates the knowledge he can take beyond this class, like how an economy operates and what a good economy means versus a bad one.

Ballantyne, Cummins and Hanson all agree that the freedom to explore a student’s interests on a particular topic without being restrained by a rigid curriculum has been liberating for them as they continue to improve their classes.

Evan Arcilla Gives Cuts Above the Rest in Locker Room

by ASHER DARLING

Last April, Evan Arcilla returned from his barbershop disappointed and ready to make a change. After giving his barber clear instructions, Arcilla still ended up with an extra four inches cut off his hair. “I looked like a completely new person,” Arcilla said. “I told myself that going forward I wasn’t going to any more barber shops. I was cutting my own hair.”

At first, learning to cut hair was difficult for Arcilla. The precision and detail required for the craft take time to master. After buying clippers and scissors, Arcilla began by practicing on himself in a mirror at home. “I just kinda went for it,” he said. “There was a lot of trial and error at first, but I eventually got there.”

Arcilla quickly fell in love with cutting hair and wanted to expand his interest. During the summer, he practiced by cutting the hair of his friend, sophomore Ethan Zhao. At first, Zhao was reluctant to have his hair cut by Arcilla. “I was uncertain because I was basically his test subject,” Zhao said.

However, Zhao noticed that over time Arcilla improved at a rapid pace. “Every time, I felt more confident sitting in that chair because I knew that he was going to get me right,” Zhao said.

When school started in August, Arcilla started cutting more of his friends’ hair. He documented his haircuts through his posts on his Instagram account dedicated to cutting hair. “People saw my work [on social media] and began to ask if I could give them haircuts,” Arcilla said. “From there, the business really took off.” According to Arcilla, he has given haircuts to more than 30 Menlo students during the first few months of the school year.

Arcilla cuts hair in the boys locker room and charges $15 per haircut. So far,

Sophomore Evan Arcilla gives senior Sam Reznik a haircut. Staff photo: Asher Darling

he has made over $500 which he plans to reinvest into his hair cutting supplies and business. When he first started, each of Arcilla’s haircuts would take upwards of an hour and a half; now Arcilla says he can complete one in a third of that time. “As a barber, I think I've really improved,” Arcilla said. “My confidence has gone up [because of more practice], which has led to faster times and overall better haircuts.”

When senior Sam Reznik learned of Arcilla’s hair cutting businesses, he was skeptical. “I told him that I would never let him cut my hair in my life,” Reznik said. However, after hearing positive feedback on Arcilla’s work, Reznik agreed to let Arcilla cut his hair. Reznik was pleased with his haircut and plans to

go back to Arcilla. He believes that the relaxed and informal aspect of Arcilla’s haircuts offer an advantage that most barber’s can’t match. “Constant dialogue [with] your barber is very important,” Reznik said. “With Evan [Arcilla] it just makes it that much easier.”

Arcilla primarily cuts the hair of athletes. “There is definitely a link between performance on the field or court and a fresh haircut,” he said. Arcilla aims to increase the confidence in the people he cuts. “I love seeing the smiles on a client’s face after a haircut,” he said. “It just makes me feel great.”

Zhao has been a key supporter of Arcilla throughout his haircutting journey and is proud of the work that his friend has accomplished. “It’s pretty

inspirational seeing my peers after the haircuts knowing that one of my closest friends did it,” he said.

Zhao, like Reznik, thinks that there is a huge advantage of having someone you know personally cut your hair. “[Arcilla] really cares about making you look good. I think that having that personal connection can be a real difference maker,” Zhao said.

Arcilla is looking forward to growing his business and passion for cutting hair. He is planning to create a website for his business which would allow clients to book time slots based on his availability. Arcilla understands how impactful a good haircut can be. “I’ve learned that a haircut can really change your life,” he said.

20

Arts & Lifestyle

December 7, 2023

Looking Ahead: Fashion Trend and Style Predictions for 2024

by SONIA DHOLAKIA & ALYSSA McADAMS

As we enter 2024, the fashion industry is entering a new year of style trends. While we predict the return of particular trends such as double denim and big bows, you can also expect to see an influx in drop waists, classy metallics and flora. But the runways are showing that in 2024, men are stepping it up as well, with eclectic tank tops becoming increasingly popular. The biggest brands are already investing in their drop waists and denim jackets for the year ahead; now is the time to get your head start!

Drop Waists: From fashion week to the it-girls on your For You Page, drop-waist dresses are stepping into the spotlight.

The elongating silhouette hugs your torso and flares out below the hips, providing the eye with an intriguing shape that’s different from the typical A-line. It’s even infiltrated the bridal world; you can be sure to see on both the runway and wedding aisles.

Petals: It may be winter, but petals are in full bloom. Our favorite brands, including Reformation, Anthropologie and even Forever 21 are placing rosettes on the fronts of their tops and dresses. As a simplistic yet sophisticated detail that uplifts any look, we can expect to see a lot more flora in everyday outfits.

Metallics: That’s right, metallics aren’t only reserved for Menlo’s upperclassmen during spirit week — the flashy coppers, silvers, and golds that ruled during the ‘70s disco era are making their return this winter. Traditionally, metallic textiles and metallic threads that offer a glossy, shiny look have been reserved for nightlife, but designers like JW Anderson and Gabriela Hearst are adding shimmering silver skirts, dresses and tops to their daytime looks.

Big Bows: Though it pains us as much as you to see teenage girls adorning their homecoming dresses with almost absurdly large bows, a trend is a trend. Stemming from the coquette, “ballet-core” fads of 2023, New York Fashion Week saw bows become bigger, but maybe not better.

Double Denim: While denim on denim may appear to be solely a thing of the past, 2023’s “cowboy-core” seems to have resulted in the return of Justin Timberlake’s iconic runway look. In 2024, elevating denim means doubling down. So, go ahead, pair that old jean jacket with your favorite blue jeans. Though it may have once been a fashion crime, now you’re not doing anything wrong.

Tanks:

Photos by Chloe Lee. Models: Caroline Clack, Bianca Putanec, Amber More, Kieran Pichai, Landon Pretre and Katie King

Who’s to say that men are limited to the traditional white wife beater when it comes to tank tops? It’s a “tank holiday,” as Vogue would call it, and we’re seeing funky and stylistic tank top choices all around. More and more unique tanks coming in vibrant colors, distressed textures, knit fabric and more can be seen from the runways of New York Fashion Week to the streets of San Francisco.